BINGHAMTON, NY – The Toronto Blue Jays announced Saturday that catcher Gabriel Moreno, the No. 1 Blue Jays prospect and No. 4 overall prospect according to MLB.com, will make his Major League debut today against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
The 22-year-old catcher was signed by Toronto in August 2016, and he played 32 games with the Fisher Cats in 2021. Moreno hit .373 with nine doubles, one triple, eight homers and a 1.092 OPS. He led New Hampshire in batting average and slugging (.651) among players with at least 10 games played.
Shortly after earning honors for his high level of play, Moreno was hit by a pitch in late June and missed several months before returning with rookie affiliate Bluefield and Triple-A Buffalo in September 2021.
In 2022, Moreno has had an exceptional start with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. At the time of his promotion, Moreno was fourth in the league in batting average at .324. He hit .380 in May with four doubles, one homer and 14 RBIs. He had a 4-for-5 game with four RBIs versus Durham on May 6 and went 3-for-5 four days later at Lehigh Valley.
Moreno’s defensive ability has been proven throughout his whole career. He led all of the minors in caught-stealing rate (53.6 percent) and had the most caught-stealings (15) at Triple-A at the time of his promotion. Just 13 runners successfully stole against him this season.
He is the 147th Fisher Cat to make the majors and the sixth player with Fisher Cats experience to debut in the big leagues in 2022.
