Mariners infielder Dylan Moore is finally beginning to heat up

Dylan Moore might be one of the biggest disappointments for the Seattle Mariners thus far. After a breakout 2020 season, many including myself were expecting Dylan Moore to be a key part of the offense in 2021 but he has been everything but that.

The Mariners utility player is currently hitting .172 with a .638 OPS. Moore also owns a .205 xBA and a .284 wOBA which are poor compared to the rest of the league. Despite the ugly numbers, the 28-year-old has been trending in the right direction as of late.

Dylan Moore has been better the last 14 days and is looking like the player the Mariners were hoping for

In the last 14 days, Dylan Moore owns a .250 batting average, and a .908 OPS. For reference, he had a .255 average and .855 OPS in 2020. Moore has also hit three home runs in the last 14 days to bring his home run total up to five on the year, which is the third most on the roster.

On an even more granular level, D-Moore has hit two of those home runs in the last seven days. Dylan Moore has also driven in six runs and stolen two bases.

It’s promising to see Dylan getting on base more often and hitting the ball over the wall, but we do have to recognize that baseball is a long season. This short span of success for Dylan Moore may not mean anything in the long run, but I hope it’s an indication of improvement.

It’s pretty interesting to compare his current form to last year’s numbers. The Mariners infielder isn’t hitting the sweet spot as much as he did in 2020 (down about 5%). On top of that, his hard-hit rate is significantly lower (down 12%), which might be influenced by his reduced sweet spot rate.

Dylan Moore’s walk rate is up compared to last year and he is actually in the 77th percentile of the MLB. But, weirdly enough, his strikeout rate is up (up 5%). What is even more confusing is that Moore reduced his chase rate (down 4%) and is in the 81st percentile of the MLB, but he somehow is striking out more than last year.

Dylan Moore has also been a key defensive player for the Mariners

Although his offensive numbers have been bad for the most part, he has been a lifesaver on the defensive side of things. The UCF product already has fours out above average which is in the 96th percentile of the league.

Moore has saved four runs above average at second base and one run while playing right field. It might be a little too early to say this, but Dylan Moore might be a legitimate candidate for the Gold Glove award.

With all that being said, Dylan Moore will continue to be in the lineup because he can catch the ball, run the bases, and hit (we are hoping).