The Phillies’ newest pitching prospect will fit right in with these numbers

The Phillies have claimed pitching prospect Scott Moss off waivers from the Guardians

One area in which Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski excels is building starting rotations.

With the Detroit Tigers, he drafted Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello and completed a trade for Max Scherzer. With the Boston Red Sox, he built a rotation that included Porcello, David Price, and Chris Sale.

Give him a little time and a lot of money, and Dombrowski will build a formidable Phillies rotation. He already has Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suárez, who are an excellent start, no pun intended.

The newest addition isn’t big-league ready quite yet, but he is an interesting pickup:

Earlier this week, the Phillies claimed Scott Moss off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians.

Moss struggled at Triple-A Columbus this season, posting a 7.08 ERA over nine games (seven starts). However, prior to the pandemic, he had been excellent for Cincinnati and then Cleveland, with whom he split the 2019 season; the 27-year-old southpaw was part of Trevor Bauer’s trade from Cleveland to Cincinnati. Over 26 starts between Double and Triple-A, Moss posted a 2.96 ERA and struck out 159 batters in 130 2/3 innings.

According to MLBTR, Baseball America ranked him in both organizations’ top-30 prospect rankings. He has an impressive strikeout rate, however, he also has “inconsistent control.” Like many pitchers on the Phillies and in their minor leagues, Moss needs to work on lowering his walk rate, which skyrocketed from 2.8 in 2018, to 4.8 in 2019, and 6.6 in 2021.

It’s hard to see Moss making the Opening Day roster after his 2021 struggles, but hopefully, he can rebound in their farm system and be a part of a brighter future.