AngelsWin.com Top 30 Prospects: #20 Hutton Moyer

[AngelsWin.com]

 

Prospect: Hutton Moyer - Rank: 20

 

2015/16: UR                        Position(s): Utility Infielder

Level: Advanced A Ball      Age: Entering Age 24 season in 2017.

Height: 6'1”                         Weight: 185 lb.

 

Present -  Future 

 

Hitting Ability: 45 - 50

Power: 45 - 50

Base Running: 50 - 50

Patience: 40 - 40

Fielding: 50 - 50

Range: 50 - 59

Arm: 50 - 50

Overall: 45 - 50

 

Floor: AAA Depth. 

Ceiling: Starting second baseman in the major leagues.  

Likely Outcome: Offensive-minded utility infielder. 

 

Summary: Moyer had a pretty good year.  That's me putting it in the simplest terms possible.  To elaborate, Moyer proved a lot of doubters wrong/  He still has a way to go, but the foundation is set for justified future promotions.  When Moyer was selected in the 7th round by the Angels out of Pepperdine, I was immediately intrigued, but surprised. For starters, Moyer wasn't that great at Pepperdine.  It took until his final year there before we saw any sort of  promising tools, that being his power, begin to manifest. So yeah, there was a degree of suspicion that perhaps Moyer was selected as a bit of a hat tip to his father, Jamie Moyer, who spent 23 years pitching in the big leagues.  

 

This notion was only further supported by Moyer's poor showing at Orem last year after being drafted. But a guy I talked to kept saying Moyer has some power, that I'll be surprised.  And he was right.

 

Hutton hit 33 doubles 17 home runs and stole 13 bases between two levels of A Ball this year.  As a middle infielder, that's pretty awesome.  His .276/.341 batting line isn't too shabby either.   What's even more impressive is Moyer's performance in the Cal League.  Most of the extra base hits came at home, at Inland Empire, the only pitcher friendly venue in the California League.  This only serves as more proof that the power Moyer displayed is real.  More accurately, Moyer's pull power is real. When his timing is down and he turns on a pitch, it can fly a very long way. 

 

But speaking of timing, here's where my skepticism creeps right back into the picture.  It's Moyer's approach at the plate.  There are a ton of moving parts.  Pre-pitch, his hands are all over the place. While the pitcher is mid-delivery, we see Hutton's hands drop down to his waste before returning to shoulder height.  While this is happening, we see a very high leg kick and then a swing.  I'm certainly not opposed to leg kicks, but when you see Moyer's you realize his timing mechanism is about as complicated as the come.  In fact, it's likely a big reason why Moyer struck out 143 times in only 124 games!  This is something the Angels will need to iron out before Moyer reaches AA and AAA next season, because more advanced pitchers will be better prepared to exploit these timing and contact issues.  The trick here will be to keep his timing, while eliminating the movement and still maintaining the power he had before.  Not an easy thing to do.

 

Defensively, Moyer can be seen at second, third and shortstop. At second base, he's a plus fielder, showing the range, arm, footwork and instincts of a truly impressive defensive asset.  When he moves over to third base, we see a lot more of an unsteady approach.  It seems like Hutton isn't sure of the path the ball is taking or how much time he has to throw it to first base, or what to do with his feet.  At shortstop, Moyer is certainly better than he is at third base, but so much of this seems based purely off of Hutton's athleticism and not his actual familiarity with the position.  Undoubtedly, Moyer will need to improve at third base if he wants to be a utility infielder in the major leagues, but if his bat continues to produce the way it did last year, then Hutton may not have to worry about it so much.  Most of his playing time should come at second base, where he is clearly comfortable.       

 

What to expect next season: Moyer will be on the move to AA Mobile.  This is where we separate the prospects you dream on versus the prospects you can actually count on.  Success at the AA level is much more transferrable to the major leagues than anything in  A ball or Advanced A.  It's the biggest jump in the minors.  I also expect Hutton to be able to settle in second base, seeing as he'll have more gifted defenders around him to play shortstop and third base.  If Moyer cuts down on the stirekoputs and continues to hit for power, I'd be looking at a possible starting second baseman in the majors.  

 

Estimated Time of Arrival: Late 2019, Moyer's age 26 season.

 

Grade as a prospect: C+: Projects to be a reserve infielder.

 

Check out our interview with Hutton Moyer conducted over the summer of 2016.

Hutton Moyer Interview August 29 2016 from AngelsWin.com on Vimeo.

[Docwaukee]

Nice job Scotty.  

Moyer is also a switch hitter.  He posted an .885 ops as a LHer vs RHP with 106 k in 423 pa while he had a .516 ops as a rher vs lhp with 37k in 115 pa.  

He also started slow when he was called up the Cal league, but in his final 317 pa, he hit .286/.356/.495/.851 with 24 bb, and 33 xbh.  

San Manuel stadium where the 66ers play had the 3rd lowest run scoring environment for LHed hitters (84) and tied for 10th lowest for RHed hitters (85) in all of baseball.  Just to give a gauge, it was 9 points (%) worse than Dickey Stevens (our cavernous former AA park).  

While his timing mechanism is a bit complicated, I don't consider it overly violent 

Kind of reminds me of Cowart's LHed swing.  Is there some Matt Carpenter to dream on there?  Not really.  My biggest problem with his swing is his tendency to get way out over his front side which makes it even tougher for him to hit breaking balls so my guess is that he gets fooled a ton.  

Anyway, I totally agree with Scotty that AA will weed him out pretty quick if he doesn't cut down the swing and miss while increasing his bb rate.  Especially considering that he's entering his age 24 season.  But the power from a nice fielding 2bman is encouraging.  

[Tyler]

A little bit of Brian Roberts to his game. Needs to make improvements on his plate discipline and adding good weight.

[Second Base]

I mean at this point, you rank him where he is because of the power as a 2B and because by a fine defender. But he isn't without his short comings. 

That load just won't work (watch him prove me wrong). His weight distribution as Doc said is questionable. There's too much swing and miss, not enough BB. 

But if those improve, you have a legitimate top tier starter. There's no way of knowing if he has it in him to make those adjustments or not, but as a #20 prospect, not bad.

[Chuck]

On 1/2/2017 at 0:11 PM, AngelsWin.com said:

Prospect: Hutton Moyer - Rank: 20

 

2015/16: UR                        Position(s): Utility Infielder

 

Level: Advanced A Ball      Age: Entering Age 24 season in 2017.

 

Height: 6'1”                         Weight: 185 lb.

 

Present -  Future 

 

Hitting Ability: 45 - 50

Power: 45 - 50

Base Running: 50 - 50

Patience: 40 - 40

Fielding: 50 - 50

Range: 50 - 59

Arm: 50 - 50

Overall: 45 - 50
 

 

Floor: AAA Depth. Ceiling: Starting second baseman in the major leagues. 

 

Likely Outcome: Offensive-minded utility infielder. 

 

Summary: Moyer had a pretty good year.  That's me putting it in the simplest terms possible.  To elaborate, Moyer proved a lot of doubters wrong/  He still has a way to go, but the foundation is set for justified future promotions.  When Moyer was selected in the 7th round by the Angels out of Pepperdine, I was immediately intrigued, but surprised. For starters, Moyer wasn't that great at Pepperdine.  It took until his final year there before we saw any sort of  promising tools, that being his power, begin to manifest. So yeah, there was a degree of suspicion that perhaps Moyer was selected as a bit of a hat tip to his father, Jamie Moyer, who spent 23 years pitching in the big leagues.  This notion was only further supported by Moyer's poor showing at Orem last year after being drafted. But a guy I talked to kept saying Moyer has some power, that I'll be surprised.  And he was right.

 

Hutton hit 33 doubles 17 home runs and stole 13 bases between two levels of A Ball this year.  As a middle infielder, that's pretty awesome.  His .276/.341 batting line isn't too shabby either.   What's even more impressive is Moyer's performance in the Cal League.  Most of the extra base hits came at home, at Inland Empire, the only pitcher friendly venue in the California League.  This only serves as more proof that the power Moyer displayed is real.  More accurately, Moyer's pull power is real.  When his timing is down and he turns on a pitch, it can fly a very long way. 

 

But speaking of timing, here's where my skepticism creeps right back into the picture.  It's Moyer's approach at the plate.  There are a ton of moving parts.  Pre-pitch, his hands are all over the place.  While the pitcher is mid-delivery, we see Hutton's hands drop down to his waste before returning to shoulder height.  While this is happening, we see a very high leg kick and then a swing.  I'm certainly not opposed to leg kicks, but when you see Moyer's you realize his timing mechanism is about as complicated as the come.  In fact, it's likely a big reason why Moyer struck out 143 times in only 124 games!  This is something the Angels will need to iron out before Moyer reaches AA and AAA next season, because more advanced pitchers will be better prepared to exploit these timing and contact issues.  The trick here will be to keep his timing, while eliminating the movement and still maintaining the power he had before.  Not an easy thing to do.

Defensively, Moyer can be seen at second, third and shortstop. At second base, he's a plus fielder, showing the range, arm, footwork and instincts of a truly impressive defensive asset.  When he moves over to third base, we see a lot more of an unsteady approach.  It seems like Hutton isn't sure of the path the ball is taking or how much time he has to throw it to first base, or what to do with his feet.  At shortstop, Moyer is certainly better than he is at third base, but so much of this seems based purely off of Hutton's athleticism and not his actual familiarity with the position.  Undoubtedly, Moyer will need to improve at third base if he wants to be a utility infielder in the major leagues, but if his bat continues to produce the way it did last year, then Hutton may not have to worry about it so much.  Most of his playing time should come at second base, where he is clearly comfortable.

 

What to expect next season: Moyer will be on the move to AA Mobile.  This is where we separate the prospects you dream on versus the prospects you can actually count on.  Success at the AA level is much more transferrable to the major leagues than anything in  A ball or Advanced A.  It's the biggest jump in the minors.  I also expect Hutton to be able to settle in second base, seeing as he'll have more gifted defenders around him to play shortstop and third base.  If Moyer cuts down on the stirekoputs and continues to hit for power, I'd be looking at a possible starting second baseman in the majors.
 

Estimated Time of Arrival: Late 2019, Moyer's age 26 season.

 

Grade as a prospect: C+: Projects to be a reserve infielder.

Check out our interview with Hutton Moyer conducted over the summer of 2016.
 

Hutton Moyer Interview August 29 2016 from AngelsWin.com on Vimeo.

 

Grades are given from the 20-80 scouting scale.  20-being non-existent ability, 80-being the best I’ve ever seen.  MLB average is 50.

Added Moyer's interview to the article for those who want to check it out. 

[Glen]

With a name like that he should be an investment banker or a Louisiana senator.

[eligrba]

2 hours ago, Glen said:

With a name like that he should be an investment banker or a Louisiana senator.

I think in Louisiana you are considered an investment banker if you are a senator.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

On 1/2/2017 at 2:50 PM, Tyler said:

A little bit of Brian Roberts to his game. Needs to make improvements on his plate discipline and adding good weight.

So, he's a juicer?..... Or, has bad wheels and we can expect them to fall off eventually?....And before anyone responds!! Yes, Roberts was a slappy good field guy would could run who then became the Power hitting second baseman after taking part with Brady Anderson and others in Baltimore and around the MLB..