This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert’s D-backs Beat newsletter. Filling in for Gilbert is Jesus Cano, who is part of the inaugural MLB Content Diversity Fellowship. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHOENIX -- Gabriel Moreno’s plan wasn’t always to be a Major League catcher, but it ended up being the right path for him.

When Moreno was playing in Venezuela, he was a heralded middle infielder with a powerful bat -- strong enough to gain the interest of Blue Jays scout Francisco Plasencia. But when Plasencia called in Sandy Rosario, the Blue Jays’ director of Latin American operations, to look at Moreno, they suggested that Moreno give catching a try.

Moreno picked up the position quickly, and seven years after signing his first professional contract, the 23-year-old has asserted himself as one of the best defensive players at his position.

“The catcher position is really hard,” Moreno said to MLB.com in Spanish. “You get hit a lot, there’s a lot of little details to work on and there’s always different information being relayed your way. You must be mentally strong and a leader on all sides of the field.”

Heading into Friday, Moreno, who was acquired over the offseason along with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in a trade that sent Daulton Varsho to Toronto, has thrown out 18 runners, tied for the eighth-most of any catcher, and he has thrown out 43.9% of would-be base stealers, second behind only James McCann. Moreno has seven more caught-stealings compared to the expectation of an average catcher, the most in the Majors.

A lot of that has to do with his 1.91-second pop time, which is tied for seventh-best among catchers (min. 20 attempts at second base) and is just below what you would consider elite.

“Gabi is a run-stopper, and the whole league knows that,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said.

“With Gabi's arm back there, it just kind of takes your mind off of the running game and those teams that try to run,” D-backs ace Zac Gallen said. “He puts a stop to that pretty easily.”

Moreno is always praised for his defense, but teammates have noted that his work ethic is one of the best in the clubhouse. Moreno is always working on the little things that have turned him into a defensive mastermind.

But as Moreno said, you need to be mentally tough to be a catcher. That includes building relationships with your pitching staff, which he made a priority the moment he arrived in the desert.

“When it’s time to play, the catcher and the pitcher are going to command the game,” Moreno said. “There are a lot of different factors when it comes to being part of a Major League battery. Communication is important, the better you know the pitcher, the more of an advantage you have.”

“You can tell he cares,” Gallen said. “He's back there and he's in the war with you. I think that's the biggest thing for me. So just to kind of see how he's developed, just over the last year, it's been awesome.”

Moreno was placed on the injured list on July 23 with left shoulder inflammation. It was just the second time in his career (Minor Leagues included) that he missed time. But since his return on Aug. 13, this is where Moreno ranks offensively among regular National League catchers.

• 1st with 14 hits

• 1st with a .378 average

• T-1st with 9 RBIs

• 1st with a .649 slugging percentage

The highlight of that stretch for Moreno was his first career grand slam, which came against the Padres on Aug. 19.

“It was an amazing moment, I was so proud of reaching that goal,” Moreno said. “Being able to give our team offensive support against a team that has a stacked lineup, hitting that home run meant a lot to me, but to the team as well.”

Moreno’s skills behind and at the plate will be a key to the D-backs' success, especially during a playoff chase. Arizona holds a half-game lead over the Cubs and a 1 1/2-game lead over the Giants and Reds in the race for the NL's second Wild Card. With a month left in the season, it could very much come down to the last game of the season. If that’s the case, Moreno is ready to rise to the occasion in any big moment.

“The goal is to just keep winning,” Moreno said. “Right now, I’m taking it game-by-game while also helping put my team in a position to win.”