When Matt Moore first broke into the majors in 2011, I thought he was the left handed Stephen Strasburg. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t getting the same hype.

Turns out, Moore wasn’t as heralded as Strasburg because he isn’t as good but that’s not a knock on the Giants’ new lefty as much as a tip of the cap to Stras’ unbelievable stuff.

Moore has battled injuries for most of his short career but for the most part, when he’s been healthy, he’s been good. Matt posted a 3.81 ERA in his first full season and a 3.29 over 150 innings in his second, good enough for an All Star selection and some Cy Young votes. After a promising start to 2014, he had Tommy John surgery and 2015 was bit rocky, Moore posted 5.43 ERA in just 12 starts and this season hasn’t been a ton better. So far, Moore has a 4.08 ERA in 130 innings, good for a rather pedestrian 1.4 WAR.

There’s more to the story though. It usually takes a year and half or so for pitchers to really recover from Tommy John. They come back after a year but they typically aren’t truly effective for another 6 months or so. Want evidence? Look at Adam Wainwright. Moore is just about to enter that period.

Please visit Off The Bench to continue reading about why Matt Moore will do well on the Giants, including Max’s theory that a veteran staff could help mentor young Matt.