Is it time to talk about Colin Moran?

SammyKhalifa · Post by **SammyKhalifa** » Thu Jun 06, 2019 5:12 pm

Not superstar, but not doing bad now with 8 HR and an 800 OPS after being blasted from all sides of the fanscape (me included). You could make an argument that he's the 3rd/4th best hitter.

DemDog · Post by **DemDog** » Thu Jun 06, 2019 5:17 pm

Is June gonna be the "Colin Moran Monster Month"? If he has a month similar but not equal to Bell's month of May we may all forget about his fielding deficiencies. Who knows. At worst we should see him in a platoon situation against RH starters.

NJBucsFan · Post by **NJBucsFan** » Thu Jun 06, 2019 5:26 pm

It's funny, I was just thinking the same thing. It's not time to trade Hayes or anything, but he's becoming a valuable piece with the bat.

Bobster21 · Post by **Bobster21** » Thu Jun 06, 2019 5:42 pm

Moran has been a very pleasant surprise this year after his poor defense and lack of power last year left most of us very disappointed. But he's now got 8 HRs in 160 ABs compared to only 11 in 415 ABs last year and hitting for nearly the same average so he's not an all or nothing guy. In the PCL in 2017 he hit 18 HRs in 302 ABs so there was hope that his power was more than just a reflection of typical overblown PCL stats. Last year he looked like nothing more than a weak fielding line drive hitter with decent average (.277) but little power. This year he's hitting .281 with power and his defense seems at least adequate at 3B. His performance so far this season has been very encouraging and I don't see anyone clamoring for the Bucs to get a better guy for 3B.

SammyKhalifa · Post by **SammyKhalifa** » Thu Jun 06, 2019 5:51 pm

5B767B6A6D7C6B2B28190 wrote: Moran has been a very pleasant surprise this year after his poor defense and lack of power last year left most of us very disappointed. But he's now got 8 HRs in 160 ABs compared to only 11 in 415 ABs last year and hitting for nearly the same average so he's not an all or nothing guy. In the PCL in 2017 he hit 18 HRs in 302 ABs so there was hope that his power was more than just a reflection of typical overblown PCL stats. Last year he looked like nothing more than a weak fielding line drive hitter with decent average (.277) but little power. This year he's hitting .281 with power and his defense seems at least adequate at 3B. His performance so far this season has been very encouraging and I don't see anyone clamoring for the Bucs to get a better guy for 3B.
Haha, I had been and hopefully will continue to be wrong.

To be honest I think all of our fielding/hitting starting spots have something going for them right now. Short and Catcher have been weak spots this season but have also been looking up recently.

OrlandoMerced · Post by **OrlandoMerced** » Thu Jun 06, 2019 6:11 pm

Moran was basically thrown into a sink or swim situation last year, as he went from 35 career at bats to OD starter, every day 3B. He was not very good, but when moved into a part time role in the latter part of the season, he was very good. He also seems to PH well, so all in all, he's at worst a great bench piece. SS and 2B seem to be the only uncertainties moving forward.

Ecbucs · Post by **Ecbucs** » Thu Jun 06, 2019 7:47 pm

0538262B242E25072F38292F2E4A0 wrote: Moran was basically thrown into a sink or swim situation last year, as he went from 35 career at bats to OD starter, every day 3B. He was not very good, but when moved into a part time role in the latter part of the season, he was very good. He also seems to PH well, so all in all, he's at worst a great bench piece. SS and 2B seem to be the only uncertainties moving forward.

Moran has done better than I could have imagined this year. Newman is off to a good start. If Tucker has a bat the Bucs could have a good infield next year. Can't believe I posted something so optimistic.

OrlandoMerced · Post by **OrlandoMerced** » Thu Jun 06, 2019 7:52 pm

It's such a Pirate thing for them to finally build a deep and productive crop of position players, to then have the entire pitching staff collapse.

JollyRoger · Post by **JollyRoger** » Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:10 pm

Moran is on pace for 25HR. He is definitely a productive piece of the puzzle so far this year.

SCBucco · Post by **SCBucco** » Fri Jun 07, 2019 2:04 am

To be honest, 2018 was a season for Moran that I totally expected. It wasn't poor offensively ... .277, 11 HR, 58 RBI for a rookie isn't bad. I actually picked him up off the bone pile for my fantasy team three weeks ago and I'm loving life. This year has been a surprise to me. Hope this train continues. If so, I can overlook the D.