A few months ago, righthander Brock Moore sat down with training staff and mental performance coaches after his 2025 season ended.
“I told [them] that I’m just not having fun out there. This is not who I want to be.”
The statement followed a difficult 2025 season in which Moore posted a 9.64 ERA and was limited to just 18.2 innings at High-A Everett due to multiple injuries, including a shoulder dislocation. In 25 appearances during his first full professional season, he walked more batters than he struck out (28 BB, 26 SO).
Fast-forward to May 2026, Moore has returned to Everett and recorded 28 strikeouts through his first 13.1 innings. Across 11 appearances out of the pen, he owns a 1.35 ERA and a 0.45 WHIP, holding opponents without an earned run in all but 1 appearance so far.
Most notably, Moore owns a 14.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio after posting a 0.93 mark last season. In addition, he is averaging just 1.4 walks per nine innings, compared to his 13.5 BB/9 in 2025.
What changed for Moore?
Well in that conversation with coaches after the season, Moore said he had the chance to take a look at the season and move forward.
“I never had an injury until last year,” said Moore. “I’ve never failed that bad in terms of results. This offseason, I had the chance to step back and get to the basics of baseball.”
Returning to the basics was aided by the addition of Everett’s new pitching coach Bryan Pall, a former Mariners pitching prospect (2019, ’21-22) who has spent the last few seasons coaching with the Mariners organization.
“You want to strikeout as many guys as you can,” Moore said. “All through Spring Training and in camp back in January, Bryan has been helping me and telling me, ‘Your stuff plays in the zone so the more you live in the zone, the more good things happen.’
“So took that to heart and realized if I am throwing strikes, one of three things can happen: I can either get hit, it’s going to be a foul tip, or its going to be a strike and I’ll take my chances.”
The encouragement from Pall echoes the overall organization mantra: “Dominate the Zone” which Moore has managed to successfully improve in every facet of the philosophy.
His 60.9% strikeout rate leads all minor league pitchers (min. 10 IP). In addition, he is also simply throwing more strikes. 133 of his 186 pitches this season (71.5%) have been for strikes, another stark contrast to his 240-of-464 pitches (51.7%) last year.
“Seeing the results he had last year really shocked me,” said Pall. “Everything he is doing this year is no surprise to me. He had the injury bug a little bit last year that might have affected his mentality, but what we are seeing now is who he has always been so no one should be caught off guard by his performance.”
But while Moore has garnered recent attention for his strikeout numbers to start the season, his mindset hasn’t changed from the very beginning of his pro journey. If anything, the injuries and the bumps along the way have only grounded him more.
“Being where your feet are, it’s a long process. You can’t look at the end goal. The more you think ‘I should be here or here or in Triple-A’, that’s when plans go downhill. You have to be happy with the opportunity that you have today. I get to play baseball for a living so no matter what field I’m at, what team I’m playing for, I am happy.”
Being close both in proximity and a few promotions away from the Big Leagues can sometimes loom over players, especially when watching teammates progress and advance up and down the organization at different rates.
“It’s definitely very hard to wake up and realize how far that end goal is,” Moore said. “But it’s also calming because everyone you’re around knows your end goal and what you’ve been going through so it’s easier to rely on your teammates to help you get there.”
That support system extends beyond the field as well. Navigating the grind of a full season also means finding balance and enjoying the moments away from baseball.
For Moore and a few of his teammates, that has meant bonding over fishing trips and making plans for the upcoming trout season.
“[My roommate] Ben, Chase and I want to go sturgeon fishing…it’s these gigantic freshwater fish that get up to 8 feet long and we’re going to get a charter boat for that one day…You just find stuff to do. This area is beautiful and there’s so much to do. You only get one day a week, but we really try to maximize those days.”
Moore has spent the last three summers in the Pacific Northwest, having played his final college season at the University of Oregon then playing for the Everett AquaSox in both of the last two years.
But the Indiana native wouldn’t go as far as considering himself the “Pacific Northwest native” of the team just yet.
“The first time I went west of Missouri was to go to college, so it was definitely eye-opening to me, but I’ve fallen in love with it.”
As he continues his journey, he hopes to one day make Seattle and T-Mobile Park his permanent home.