Washington Nationals 2015 Player Review: Tyler Moore

We continue our grades for the 2015 Washington Nationals by looking at one of the players on the team’s bench for the majority of this season. Tyler Moore was one of the surprises for the team this spring. Moore, who was out of options, earned his way onto the Opening Day roster by hitting .305 with one home run and eight RBI’s in 22 games.

Once the regular season began, Moore struggled to adjust to the role as being one of the team’s key pinch-hitters. In 46 at-bats as a pinch-hitter this season, the 28-year-old first baseman hit .109 with five hits, one home run and three RBI’s. Only Wilmer Difo had a lower batting average (.100) in pinch-hit appearances, but he only had ten at-bats.

The only home run that Moore had in a pinch-hitting role this season occurred on May 13 against the Diamondbacks. With the Nats down 5-3 in the top of the sixth inning, Moore hit a two-run home run against Randall Delgado to tie the game at five.

Overall, for the season, Moore had a slash line of .203/.250/.364 with six home runs and 27 RBI’s in 97 games. When he was in the lineup, he had a .238 average with four home runs and 23 RBI’s. With Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth out of the lineup at times due to injury, Moore would either play first base or left field, depending on which position Clint Robinson was playing in that game.

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Moore’s best game in a starting role this season was on the fourth of July against the San Francisco Giants. During that game (which was started by Madison Bumgarner), he went 3-for-4 with three singles and four RBI’s in a 9-3 Nationals win.

Whether it was at first base, left field, right field, or even the one pitching appearance he had, Moore did not have one error this season. In that relief appearance Moore had on August 5 against the D’Backs, he went 2/3 of an inning and did not give up a hit on five pitches.

Going into next season, the Nats could bring Moore back off the bench. According to MLB Trade Rumors, Moore is projected to make $1 million. He could fill in at either first base or left field if needed, but as hard as pinch-hitting can be, I think the organization wants a player who is better than 5-for-46 in those particular situations. In 2012, he did have ten home runs in more of a starting role, so it would be interesting to see if the Nats would deal him to a team where he has a chance to get more playing time.

C-. . 1B/OF. Washington Nationals. TYLER MOORE

Next: Nats 2015 Player Review: Joe Ross

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