Jimmy Moran spent time at three levels in the 2012 season, but for 2013 he was at one level for the entire season. The Reds sent Moran to Bakersfield to pitch out of their bullpen where he made 44 appearances.
Moran got his season started with a two innings outing against Stockton where he allowed a run on 2 hits, a walk and hit two batters while striking out 4. Over the next three outings he didn’t allow a run in 3.2 innings, though he struggled with control as he walked 5 batters and hit two more. On the 20th against Lancaster control came back to bite him as he allowed 4 runs in an inning of work with 2 hits and 2 walks, including a home run. He finished out the month with 4 innings over the next two appearances with 5 walks and 3 strikeouts, but only allowed a run. Moran finished April with a 4.91 ERA in 11 innings with 13 walks and 11 strikeouts while hitting four batters. Control was a big problem on the month, but he was able to miss bats at a good rate.
May began similar to how April ended with 1.2 shutout innings with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts. He struggled the next time out against San Jose where he allowed 3 runs on 2 homers and 2 walks in 2 innings. Over his next four games he allowed just 1 run in 7 innings with 4 walks and 6 strikeouts. On the 26th against Stockton he allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks in an inning of work. He rebounded well over the final two outings of the month, allowing just a run on 4 hits and 2 walks in 4.1 innings with 4 strikeouts. He finished the month with a 3.94 ERA in 16 innings while walking 13 and striking out 14. He again struggled badly with his control and his strikeout rate dropped slightly on the month.
The month of June began with a perfect inning against High Desert that was followed up by 2 hitless and scoreless innings against Lake Elsinore where the right hander walked 4 batters. The next two outings came against Visalia where he allowed a run over two innings with a walk and 3 strikeouts. On the 22nd and 25th he ran into some problems as he allowed 4 earned runs in 2.2 innings with 2 walks, a home run allowed and 3 strikeouts. Moran finished out the month with a shutout inning over two appearances as he finished with a 5.06 ERA in 10.2 innings with 7 walks and 8 strikeouts. Control was a problem again and for back to back months his strikeout rate dropped slightly from the month before.
July began with a 1.1 inning outing against Lancaster with an earned run on a walk and 4 strikeouts. He followed that up with seven straight scoreless appearances that spanned 9.1 innings with 4 walks that came in just two games to go along with 11 strikeouts. In his final appearances of the month he as charged with 2 unearned runs in 2 innings on a walk and 5 strikeouts to finish out the month with a 0.71 ERA in 12.2 innings with 6 walks and 20 strikeouts. His walk rate was the lowest of the year, though it was still a bit high. His strikeout rate jumped up from 18.2% in June to 35.1% in July. The month ended with eight straight appearances without an earned run.
August began with four more appearances without a run, extending his streak to 12 games without an earned run that spanned 16.1 innings from July 4th through August 14th. The 17th of August began a rough stretch as over the next three games Moran allowed 8 earned runs in 3 innings with 3 walks, a hit batter, 2 homers and just one strikeout. He finished out the month with a shutout inning in each of the last two appearances he made. The middle stretch of the month really ballooned his ERA up to 7.20 on the month in 10 innings with 5 walks and 8 strikeouts. Control was again an issue and his strikeout rate for August was just over 16%, which was the lowest of the season.
Season Stats
| W | L | ERA | SV | IP | H | HR | BB | K | WHIP | K/BB |
| 2 | 2 | 4.18 | 1 | 60.1 | 53 | 6 | 44 | 61 | 1.61 | 1.39 |
Overall Thoughts
Control has always been an issue for Moran as a professional, but in 2013 he walked what was easily the highest rate of hitters of his career. He continues to miss bats at a good rate, but will need to cut down on the walks moving forward by a significant amount. Moran showed a groundball rate of 51% on the season, which is well above average and helped him keep the ball in the park in the homer friendly California League.
For more player season review, you can see the entire list here.