Pearl, MS - On Thursday, the Southern League announced that Mississippi Brave Gary Moran finished first among all Southern League pitchers with a 2.91 ERA.

Moran made his first Double-A appearance with Mississippi on April 5th and worked from the bullpen for five games before becoming a regular in the rotation. The California native made 23 starts and finished the year with a 5-10 record. In 29 games Moran had fanned 117 batters over the course of 160.2 innings, just shy of teammate Zeke Spruill's league leading 161.2 innings pitched.

The mid-season all-star was impressive throughout the year throwing 16 quality starts and two complete games. He secured his final 2012 win on August 6 in the M-Braves 2-1 victory against Chattanooga. It would be his best outing of the year earning a season high of 10 strikeouts in six innings as well as securing the M-Braves 500th franchise win.

The right-hander originally signed with the San Francisco Giants in the 41st round of 2009 but was released on March 25 of the following year. Afterwards, Moran spent 2010 with the Independent team, the River City Rascals before being signed by the Braves Organization on June 7, 2011. Assigned to Low-A Rome, he made nine appearances with the team earning a 3.50 ERA and a 4-1 record before being called to High-A Lynchburg. In Lynchburg, Moran finished the year making five starts with a 2-1 record and a 2.63 ERA.

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