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Steven Moya goes hitless in Arizona Fall League All-Star game

Moya went 0 for 4 in a game he would like to forget.

By Rob Rogacki
Ed Zurga

Steven Moya went hitless in tonight's Arizona Fall League All-Star game, which was won 6-2 by the East Division. Moya, the Tigers' lone representative in the game, batted fourth for the West. He flew out twice, grounded out weakly to first base, and struck out in four at-bats. Moya also misplayed a ball in right field on a triple by Toronto Blue Jays prospect Dalton Pompey, but was not charged with an error.

Known for his impressive power and poor plate discipline, Moya went up to the plate hacking tonight. He saw 10 pitches in his four at-bats, all strikes. His best at-bat came in the first inning when he hit a sharp line drive to left field on an 0-2 pitch. The ball went straight to left fielder Eddie Rosario, who threw to second base to double off West center fielder Tyrone Taylor.

Moya only saw two pitches apiece in his next two at-bats. He grounded out weakly to first base in the fourth inning on a high fastball. In the sixth inning, Moya hit a towering pop-up on an 0-1 fastball.

Moya's lone defensive play of consequence came in the bottom of the second inning. Pompey lined a pitch into the right field corner, but the ball skipped along the warning track and past a charging Moya as he approached the corner. The ball seemed to take a tricky hop, but it looked as if Moya could have done better to keep the ball in front of him. Regardless, the play may not have mattered; Pompey has excellent speed and looked to have a triple out of the batter's box.

Bullets:

Moya's long, cumbersome swing continues to be an issue. While he hit the ball sharply in the first inning, a shorter cut may have led to even better contact. East starter Archie Bradley hung a fastball, and an MLB-quality power hitter would pull that pitch into the right field seats.

Moya's second at-bat was easily his worst of the evening. After taking a strike to open the at-bat, Moya swung at a fastball at his waist and inside -- not exactly a great pitch for a left-hander to handle. The jamshot led to a weak groundout to first base. Part of plate discipline is knowing what pitches you can handle within the strike zone, and Moya needed to lay off that one.

Moya fielded a base hit in right field in the sixth inning, and made a strong throw home to hold Pirates prospect Josh Bell at third base. While his throwing motion didn't seem to be the smoothest -- it's hard to look that smooth at 6'7", to be fair -- he made the correct play and hit the cut-off man.

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