On Friday, it was revealed that the Yankees claimed right-handed reliever McKinley Moore off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies. The Bombers just lost Scott Effross for at least a few months and have been doing their best to spot potential low-risk, high-reward opportunities to stash.

Moore is the most recent flier taken by the Yanks. He is a tall (6-foot-6) right-hander with a big frame who is still young, at 25 years old. The Yankees surely like the fact he has big fastball velocity (sitting in the mid-to-high 90s range, touching 99 mph), so there is something to work with. Drafted in the 14th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox (410th overall), Moore had joined the Phillies in the Adam Haseley trade in March 2022. He has one notorious flaw, though: he can’t consistently throw strikes.

Injuries derailed his 2023 season and limited him to 23.2 innings between Single-A, Double-A, Triple-A and the majors. In that limited sample size, the righty walked a whopping 27 hitters. Yeah, that would be a problem in MLB if he were to have an extended chance. The Yankees, however, aren’t bringing him in to save their bullpen. They are doing it because they think they can work with him to get him to find the plate more consistently, and the downside is minimal.

Baseball America recently featured Moore on their “10 Philadelphia Phillies Prospects To Know Beyond The Top 30 in 2024”, by Josh Norris. They ranked him 35th on their system, and called him a potential “low-leverage bullpen piece.” When the Phillies acquired Moore from the White Sox in the spring of 2022, Kyle Glaser wrote that he had “a fastball up to 99 mph and a potentially plus slider, but he struggles to command his slider and has difficulty throwing strikes in general. He’s a flyer bullpen prospect whose arm strength gives him a chance to rise if he can figure out his control.”

The fastball gets nice velocity and misses bats at a solid rate, while the slider, even if it has potential, needs a lot of work both in shape and, especially, command. That pitch had a meager 17.4 percent whiff rate in his short 13-inning sample in Triple-A, while the four-seamer checked in at 41.4 percent and his changeup had a 50 percent mark.

About the slider, it’s recognized as a sweeper by several sources, including Phillies prospects expert Matt Winkelman. “He throws a high 80s sweeper that is in the same velocity band as Orion Kerkering but without the horizontal break that Kerkering does (about 5 inches less),” he said about the pitch.

Winkelman does think his changeup is Moore’s best and most promising pitch:

“Moore’s best pitch has been a low 90s split changeup that he was able to get above average whiff rates on in the minors,” he added, and given his pitch usage patterns, it makes one wonder why doesn’t he use it more often. Moore goes to his fastball about 56 percent of the time, with the slider checking in at 36 percent and the changeup at eight percent. For his development, however, it’s very important he improves his slider/sweeper to give him a weapon to neutralize righties.

Moore finished the 2023 season with a 1.33 ERA in the minor leagues, in 20.1 frames. He struck out a whopping 37 hitters, but walked 22 with a 1.67 WHIP. That’s the magic of minor league baseball: pitchers might thrive on sheer velocity alone, but if they can’t fool MLB hitters or consistently throw strikes, they won’t succeed, plain and simple. In fact, Moore struggled mightily in 3.1 MLB innings this past season, conceding seven earned runs and walking five hitters.

The key to Moore’s career will be harnessing his stuff. Even if the Yankees’ lab helps him develop a nasty slider with sudden, late break, it won’t matter if he can’t throw strikes. Time is on his side at least, since he’ll be 24 for most of this upcoming season (likely to be spent in bulk at Triple-A), and relievers can break out at any time.

For the Yankees, it’s a low-risk flier that won’t hurt anyone. They have “fixed” pitchers that were considered “broken”, and their recent history is full of examples. The reward has the potential to be very interesting and useful.