Moses' bat beginning to come alive

La Velle E. Neal III
Star Tribune

JUPITER, FLA. -- The Fort Myers Miracle trailed the Palm Beach Cardinals 1-0 heading into the ninth inning of a recent game.

It was then that Matt Moses showed why the Twins consider him one of their top hitting prospects. He hammered the first pitch of the inning well over the right-field wall, utilizing his short power stroke.

"That bat," Miracle manager Riccardo Ingram said with a chuckle, "could be real special."

At 6-1 and 220 pounds, Moses already is a stocky third baseman. He was the Twins' first-round pick in 2003, and he's on the same team with 2002 first-rounder Denard Span, 2004 first-rounder Glen Perkins and several other talented youngsters. Fort Myers, 22-12 through Sunday, might have the next wave of top Twins prospects.

Moses entered the season having played only 48 games over the previous two seasons. A back injury limited him to 29 games at Class A Quad City last season. In 2003, a heart defect led to surgery in which a patch was placed on his heart, correcting the problem without long-term health problems.

"It's a lot easier to get into a groove," said Moses, batting .339 with six homers and 27 RBI in 33 games. "Coming back this year and being able to play is awesome."

There were concerns that Moses would have to be moved to the outfield or first base, but he has shown enough improvement that club officials will wait and see how much better he gets. Right now, he looks mechanical at third but, then again, he only has 81 games as a pro under his belt.

"He has a nice swing with some pop," said Jim Rantz, the Twins' director of minor leagues. "Being lefthanded is very attractive in our ballpark. We're not doing a lot with his swing. Our goal is to keep him healthy and work on his defense."