Pioneer notes: Moss gathers attention
First drafted out of high school in the 38th round by the Rockies in 2013, Scott Moss took a winding road to the Continental Divide.
It took three seasons, two arm operations and one College World Series.
A fourth-round pick in the 2016 Draft by the Reds, the 6-foot-5 Moss has developed into the most consistent starter for the playoff-bound Billings Mustangs. He's 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 38 1/3 innings. The last number stands out because he hasn't thrown that many innings as an adult.
"Freshman year [in college], Tommy John surgery," said Moss, a day after earning the win in Billlings' 15-5 victory at Missoula. "I came back my sophomore year and had to have a second surgery to clear out whatever was in the joint. I missed one calendar year -- basically two seasons. I came back my junior year and threw 24 innings, and then I was here.
"It was the quickest college experience ever. Like that, it was done."
Moss went to the University of Florida, which sits two hours from his hometown of Deltona. Then came the injuries, and the pitcher who had once drawn dozens of scouts was off the grid for a time.
This spring, though, the scouts started showing up again. A lanky lefty who can easily touch 90 mph has that kind of drawing power.
"I would throw intrasquad games and there would be 15 scouts here," Moss said. "And I'd be like, 'Who are they here for?' Then you start seeing the same guys over and over, and it's like, 'OK, maybe it's me.'"
Moss sat around 88 mph in his Aug. 25 start against the Osprey, mixing in a slider and a changeup.
"He's shown flashes of 92, 93," Billings pitching coach Seth Etherton noted. "But he's upper 80s right now consistently, and when he needs to grab a little extra, he does.
"Once the season is over, he'll be able to build on the strength, put the weight on, things like that, and I think he should sit low to mid-90s. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't."
Moss would lead the Pioneer League in ERA, but he's about 17 innings short of qualifying. He didn't get in a game until July 11 and his first appearances were in relief.
Now he's into the grind.
"Going every fifth day, you definitely have to make sure your body is up to the challenge," he said. "If you have something you want to fix your last start, you fix it in your bullpen. You work the four days in between and the fifth you go out and have fun -- show people what you worked on the last four days."
"Big frame," Etherton noted. "There's a very high ceiling with his body. Usually the first season after college is the longest season of a career. There's so much going on. He's kind of just getting his feet wet with pro ball, but the one thing I can say is he's very disciplined. Very, very structured young man."
Moss hadn't been west of the Mississippi until June, when Florida played in the College World Series. The Gators lost two one-run games in Omaha, Nebraska, and in his lone relief appearance Moss retired the only batter he faced.
It's a certainty that the scouts paid attention, though -- just like they did in those intrasquad games in Gainesville, Florida.
"You just have to show what you got and hopefully it works out," Moss said. "Obviously it worked out."
In brief
Hard-hitting Gideon: Helena Brewers first baseman Ronnie Gideon, a 26th-round pick in June, is closing in on the Pioneer League home run title after hitting three in the span of four games Aug. 23-26. The 225-pounder out of Texas A&M has 15 homers and took over the league lead from Missoula third baseman Eudy Ramos, who has been sitting at 13 since getting hit by three pitches in one game at Billings on Aug. 19. The last one got Ramos on the helmet, and he's been under concussion protocol. "He should play before the end of the season," Osprey manager Joe Mather said. "It could be tomorrow, it could be the next day."
Run-off win: When Missoula's Logan Soole bunted into a fielder's choice in the ninth inning Aug. 24, you figured he still might score the winning run against the Billings Mustangs. Just not this way: Soole moved to second on a single and then raced home while Mustangs catcher Morgan Lofstrom visited the mound. Osprey manager Joe Mather, noticing time hadn't been called, motioned Soole to third. He kept going, beating Lofstrom to the plate for the walk-off, 3-2 win. "I'd never seen it quite like that," Mather said. "I'd seen a guy take one base. It's something I was just got taught to look for. It was the first time we got to take advantage of it this year, and it happened to be a walk-off. It was pretty incredible."
Fritz Neighbor is a contributor to MiLB.com.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between