Gabriel Moreno Pushing for All-Star Honors with 2025 Breakout at the Plate

It's becoming clearer that Moreno is taking the jump to All-Star status.

Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno bats at Kauffman Stadium against the Kansas City Royals.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are a much different team when Gabriel Moreno starts behind the plate. Not only does he provide Gold Glove-caliber defense, he also adds another credible threat to their lineup.

In 2025, the D-backs' catcher is having a quiet breakout. It was a topic I first addressed back in June for Diamondbacks On SI. Moreno ended up missing two more months not too long after, with his hand injury revealing a hairline fracture.

Since coming off the injured list on August 22nd, Moreno has hit the ground running. He's slashing .351/.415/.614 with four home runs in his previous 65 plate appearances, settling into the cleanup spot in the lineup.

It's becoming clearer that Moreno is taking the jump to All-Star status. The only thing that's holding him back is health, as he's spent time on the injured list in each of the past three seasons. He's never started more than 94 games behind the plate, which came back in 2023.

Underlying Data Supports Gabriel Moreno's Breakout

Looking at Moreno's season as a whole, he's slashing .290/.348/.463 with career-highs in home runs (9), slugging percentage (.463), OPS (.811), and wRC+ (124). It's worth noting he's logged 253 PA on the season, thanks to his hand injury. Those numbers indicate that there's a potential breakout for the D-backs catcher on the surface.

However, it's important to note the underlying metrics and see if they corroborate with the production at the plate. For Moreno, the underlying data more than support his breakout at the dish.

All the batted ball trends have taken a major step forward, with career-highs in just about everything I can think of. Here is a rundown of all those metrics.

Average Exit Velocity: 90.9 MPH
Hard-Hit Rate (95+ MPH EV): 45.2%
Barrel Rate (per batted ball): 8.0%
Launch Angle Sweet Spot Rate (8-32° LA): 41.5%
Ground Ball Rate: 38.8%
Pull Rate: 32.4%

So it's pretty clear from the data that Moreno is not only hitting the ball harder, but in the air. In his career, he'd never had a pull air% above 7.8%. This season, it sits at 14.9%, explaining the giant leap in his slugging percentage.

Adding more slug has rounded out Moreno's capabilities as a hitter. He's always given tough at-bats and a difficult hitter to strike out. His chase and whiff rates are both better than the median for major league hitters, leading to just a 17.4% strikeout rate. The only other hitter in the lineup who provides that combination of power and selectivity is Ketel Marte.

The improved contact quality shows in Moreno's expected stats. These Statcast metrics try to eliminate the defense, accounting for just exit velocity and launch angle on batted balls. This is where Moreno is for the season.

xBA: .295
xSLG: .484
xwOBA: .359

Simply put, those are All-Star numbers at the plate. The only question moving forward is if Moreno can repeat them over a larger sample size.

Moreno's 2026 Outlook

The key for Moreno is continuing the strong 2025 season, but over the course of 450-500 PA. With that type of offensive impact, they should look into getting him some starts at DH against left-handed pitching. To do that, they should consider bringing back James McCann for next season.

Looking at the Diamondbacks roster altogether, it's pretty clear there is a "Core Four" of position players. That is Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo, Corbin Carroll, and Gabriel Moreno. That should be their top four hitters in the lineup, unless the team can add a proven power bat at first base or DH spots.

If Moreno can stay healthy, he's looking at 90-100 starts behind the plate and another 30-40 as a DH. With the type of offense, he should be on a short list of players to start for the National League behind the plate in the All-Star Game. His primary competition will be the Dodgers' Will Smith, the Brewers' William Contreras, and the Braves' Drake Baldwin.