Dylan Moore

Moore was limited to just 67 games in 2023 in large part due to him missing the first two months of the season due to an oblique injury and scar tissue that developed from an offseason surgery. He once again saw most of his action against southpaws, and his .797 OPS against left-handed pitching easily trumped the .647 mark he posted against righties. He was also considerably better away from T-Mobile Park, as his OPS away from his home ballpark was .831 compared to .614 when playing in Seattle.He also didn't run nearly as much in 2023 with just seven steals on ten attempts, and his sprint speed has declined significantly over time; ranking in the the 58th percentile after being in the 83rd two years ago. The ability to play all over the field will give Moore a roster spot in 2024 for Seattle, but a player who looked like a fantasy sleeper doesn't carry redraft value to begin next year.

Moore maintains dual eligibility for the 2023 season without a clear path to regular playing time unless multiple injuries beset the Seattle ball club. His 42 steals over the past two seasons is 12th-best in the league, which is where all of his fantasy value is. The 21 steals in each season had different foundations as he did 2021 with more playing time while this past season, it was done more with him getting on base with more walks and pinch running opportunities. He does not make enough overall contact and is more comfortable on the short side of a platoon limiting his fantasy value to AL-Only formats or very deep mixed league formats given his career batting average in nearly 1100 plate appearances is just eight points above the Mendoza Line and with a 30% career strikeout rate. He'll likely be limited to a utility role to begin 2023 since the Mariners stabilized the keystone and corner outfield by acquiring Kolten Wong, Teoscar Hernandez and A.J. Pollock during the offseason.

Players with 83rd percentile sprint speed should focus on contact and hitting line drives and grounders, right? Moore must not agree as he posted a 29.4% K% and a 31.7% groundball rate. Sure, lofting so many balls will spawn homers, but with a low 90 mph average exit velocity on fly balls, most will be caught. A 50% flyball rate in tandem with a .105 BABIP on fly balls resulted in an overall .229 BABIP. Combine that with a bunch of strikeouts and it's clear why Moore's average was the fourth lowest among hitters with at least 350 PA. He swiped 21 bags, but they came with baggage. Moore's xBA was just over the Mendoza line, but he still doesn't play to his skills. With Seattle in go-for-it mode, it's hard to imagine Moore playing every day, he's more likely going to fill in all over the diamond. Steals are dwindling but the best approach is to avoid having to draft a guy like Moore.

The typical script says rookies come up and do well, but then are prone to sophomore slumps. Moore flipped that script and followed up an underwhelming rookie season with a strong sophomore year. His rookie year was not terrible as the former UCF hitter showed power and speed, but a 55% success rate in steals was as bad as his .206 BA. He did better in both areas in 2020, but there is still more room for improvement in his stolen-base success rate as well as his strikeout rate. There is quite a bit of red ink on his StatCast page related to his ability to hit with authority around the strikeouts ,teasing there may be more in the third year. A late bloomer at 28 years old, Moore has dual eligibility and a guaranteed spot in the Seattle lineup, making him an intriguing target for 2021. His rookie year gave us a floor for the skill set. We may have yet to see his ceiling.

Moore's rookie season was a mixed bag. He spent most of the campaign hovering around the Mendoza Line, ending the season with a .206 average. However, Moore made the 51 hits he did collect count as 25 of them went for extra bases, resulting in a promising .182 ISO. Meanwhile, he racked up 11 stolen bases but got thrown out nine times. Finally, he showed the ability to take a walk with an 8.9 BB% but struck out far too often, ending the season with an ugly 33.0 K%. Defensively, Moore began 2019 roaming the infield before his defensive struggles -- including a game in which he committed three consecutive ninth-inning errors -- led to a move to the outfield, where he climbed near the top of the Statcast Outfielder Jump leaderboard. Altogether, Moore's up-and-down season paints the picture of a player best served to fill a utility role, a likelihood for 2020 that renders him irrelevant in most fantasy formats.