The Brewers won’t report to spring training for a couple more months and Arizona Fall League play has ended for the year. But fear not- there’s still plenty of opportunity to keep up with the Brewers’ prospects. From this year’s draft class, Robert Moore is currently playing in Australia with the Brisbane Bandits and seeing lots of action there.
Brisbane Bandits
The Brisbane Bandits are a professional team playing in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) as one of six founding teams. The league currently has eight member teams and plans to expand further. The Bandits currently hold four national championships (2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019) since the league’s inception in 2009. The roster is made up of international players but is dominated by Australian and American players.
The Brewers have partnered with the Bandits since 2020 to send minor-league prospects over in the offseason in addition to the players that play in the Arizona Fall League. The Bandits’ manager this season is former Brewers’ catcher and the Australian national team head coach, Dave Nilsson. Nilsson is helping to lead the charge to spread baseball through Australia.
Robert Moore
Bob Moore, the 72nd overall pick in this year’s draft, has been lighting it up down under this fall. Projected by some to go in the first round, the shortstop out of Arkansas fell a bit after his numbers dropped this past season. However, the Brewers saw lots of offensive potential in Moore, and lots of room to grow. Moore was only 20 at the time of the draft, the youngest player eligible to be drafted out of college in 2022. This gives him the benefit of some of the polish of a college ball player with the time to develop of a younger player. He also has the benefit of coming from a baseball family as the son of Kansas City’s president of baseball operations, Dayton Moore, and growing up in the game.
With the 72nd selection of the 2022 #MLBDraft, the Brewers select Robert Moore from Arkansas.#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/gb4MbzCSBB
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 18, 2022
Moore’s Development
After spending four games with the Arizona Complex League, Moore moved to the Single-A Carolina Mudcats, where he batted a respectable .264 through 27 games. At the conclusion of the minor league season, Moore headed to Australia to play for Brisbane. Drafted as a shortstop, which he played at Arkansas, he’s mostly played 2nd base for Brisbane.
So far this season, we’re starting to see the offensive potential he was drafted for. In 48 at bats, he has 12 hits (an average of 1 per game). Those hits include 4 home runs and 14 RBI. However, he’s also struck out 11 times in this span, compared to 6 walks. When Moore hits, he hits big- like yesterday’s electric grand slam to give the Bandits a 9-0 lead.
From this small sample, if he’s not hitting big, he’s probably not hitting. This is common in young hitters, even those known for being offensive powerhouses. The power and skill is there- now we see if he continues to develop and mature.
BOB MOORE GRAND SLAM
Moore knocks it out of the park to extend the Bandits lead to 9-0.
Game Highlight brought to you by Phoenix Law#AlwaysBrisbane #ABL23 pic.twitter.com/9YnuPpcF9Q
— Brisbane Bandits (@BrisbaneBandits) November 26, 2022
My money is on Moore continuing to mature into a polished hitter. He has the background and experience of college baseball at Arkansas, including playing on a big stage, like at the College World Series. He also is gaining valuable experience with a great coaching staff in Australia. This should complement his regular season minor league training well.
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