NewsMoreland keeps it simple by hitting
First baseman continues to impress, batting .364 in AFL
By Rush Olson / Special to MLB.com
10/29/09 9:26 PM ET
The deal with Texas prospect Mitch Moreland is simple. In the past two seasons, in three levels of the Rangers organization, he has gotten hits. Now in the Arizona Fall League, he has continued to do so, as he also did in three years at Mississippi State. He batted .332 against NCAA pitchers, .324 with 99 RBIs in Low A, .341 in High A, and .326 with 59 RBIs in 73 Double-A games. Now he carries a .364 average and .475 on-base percentage for the AFL's Surprise Rafters.Moreland attributes his impressive results to sticking to a straightforward approach against increasingly sophisticated competition.
"They get better, and the game speeds up, and you just have to kind of speed up with it, but at the same time not let it get over your head, try to keep it simple," he said. "That's what I always tell myself if I start slumping or something goes wrong, is try to simplify. So far, that plan has worked. Hopefully it will keep working."
A major college hitter adjusting quickly to pro ball and darting swiftly up the list of an organization's top prospects is ordinary enough. Moreland's rise is more complex because he was only a 17th round pick in 2007. Draft pedigrees of players in the AFL tend to look more like that of his Surprise teammate Mike Moustakas, whom the Royals took second overall, or the pitcher he faced Tuesday. The Nationals took Stephen Strasburg first overall in June. Moreland improved his on-base percentage with a walk in two plate appearances against a pitcher he succinctly described as having "some of the better stuff I've seen out here so far."
Lower round picks don't get shortcuts to baseball's upper levels. But the former business administration major has learned what works for him and has a plan. It doesn't involve shortcuts.
"I just try to keep coming out and playing my game and working hard in the offseason," he explained. "I feel like if I can have a good plan going into the offseason and execute that and come in ready to go in spring training, everything will take care of itself, and it has."
"Mitch earned the opportunity to come here. He had a really good year," said Scott Servais, Rangers director of player development, of Moreland's invitation to the prospect-intensive AFL. "[We're] trying to get him lined up to possibly go to Triple-A next year and possibly get some exposure in our Major League camp as well."
"I can't control that. [I] just come out here and play," Moreland said of a possible invitation to big league Spring Training. "If they bring me in, that's good. If they don't, I'll just have to keep working."
Rangers first-base prospects like Mark Teixeira, Adrian Gonzalez, Chris Davis and Justin Smoak, former early-round picks all, had the Arizona Fall League as part of their development process. A late-season foot injury slowed Moreland's progress, though he has pressed the accelerator again with his October success, including reaching base three more times Thursday against Scottsdale.
"[The foot] still gets a little bit sore during the games but [it's] definitely playable. It's feeling good, and hopefully I can keep building on that during the offseason and come back strong, ready to go for spring training."
He has played outfield as well as first, and Texas even tried him on the mound last fall. "[I'm] trying to get a little experience everywhere, that way I'll feel comfortable when the time comes," Moreland said.
When that time comes is up to the Rangers' front office. Moreland continues to do his part to make it a simple decision.
Rush Olson is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
