San Francisco Giants: Moronta Becoming Big Part of the Bullpen

With some roles in the San Francisco Giants’ bullpen in flux, Reyes Moronta is emerging as a big part of the puzzle so far this season.

There have been plenty of interesting storylines so far this season for the San Francisco Giants. Chris Stratton has continued the breakout he started last season, filling in more than admirably with injuries tearing into the starting rotation. Brandon Belt is riding the hot streak of a lifetime, becoming the powerful force in the middle of the Giants’ order. Mac Williamson seems to be poised to finally put all of his immense tools together. But maybe the most surprising story for the Giants has been the emergence of Reyes Moronta.

Moronta, the big and burly right-hander, wasn’t even supposed to be on the Opening Day roster. He was optioned on March 12th during Spring Training, and figured to get some more time in AAA Sacramento to continue to refine his game. But when Mark Melancon needed to start the year on the disabled list, and Rule 5 pick Julian Fernandez was given the dreaded Tommy John prognosis, Moronta was brought back up.

He started the year as a mop-up reliever, pitching late in blowouts games just to save the other arms in the bullpen. But he was impressive in those outings. He blew hitters away with his fastball in the high 90s and a legitimate swing-and-miss slider, and he was gradually pushed into more important innings.

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Moronta started pitching in closer games, taking on early innings when Giants’ starters struggled to get through the fifth or sixth inning. And he continued to make his mark with his great repertoire, pitching shutout inning after shutout inning. The coaching staff has taken notice, and Moronta’s role continued to expand.

He pitched the seventh inning with a 4-0 lead last Sunday, getting through the frame with only a walk allowed. His next outing was maybe his biggest as a Giant. Tuesday’s starter Ty Blach was out of the game after five innings, and Moronta was charged with pitching in a tie game.

Moronta struck out the first batter he faced, getting Ryan Zimmerman to chase a nasty slider off the plate. After a one-out single, a groundball double play ended the sixth. He stayed on the mound for the seventh after Williamson gave the Giants a one-run lead, and zoomed through a 1-2-3 frame along with his second strikeout. He earned his first career big league win for his efforts as well.

Moronta has been nearly unhittable this season, especially with his fastball. Hitters have come up with only four hits in 14 innings against Moronta, and only one has gone for extra-base hits (a solo home run by Ketel Marte that represents Moronta’s only run allowed this year). Batters own an .067 average against his fastball that averages over 96 on the radar gun, picking up two hits in 30 at-bats that ended with the pitch. His slider has been nearly as good, with a .077 (1-13) batting average against.

It hasn’t been all perfect, and Moronta’s command is a cause for slight concern so far this year. He’s issued eight walks in his 14 innings of work, but has already started to calm that down a bit. Only one of those walks have come in Moronta’s last five appearances. Even with the control issues, Moronta came make up for it with two true swing-and-miss offerings.

With Hunter Strickland establishing himself in the ninth inning and Tony Watson controlling the eighth on most days, Moronta is starting to fill another very important role: the bridge to the back of the bullpen. The Giants have struggled to fill that role so far this year, with Josh Osich falling flat on his face after a strong spring and Sam Dyson just starting to maybe find his footing after a miserable spring. Moronta has made life a bit easier in that regard, especially with his ability to throw multiple innings.

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The Giants’ bullpen has been shaky for the past few years, and the team has had trouble establishing bullpen arms since the departure of the core four. They have had some excellent performances in the early goings of the 2018 season, and Moronta certainly seems poised to become a big part of the bullpen this season and in the future.