Peter Moylan

From BR Bullpen

Peter Michael Moylan

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 3", Weight 220 lb.

Debut April 12, 2006
Born December 2, 1976 in Attadale, Western Australia Australia

[edit] Biographical Information

Peter Moylan is currently a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. His major league debut came nine years after his last appearance in Organized Baseball, which had been in rookie league.

Moylan was signed by the Minnesota Twins in 1996 and spent two seasons in the Gulf Coast League before being released. He was 1-1 with a 4.08 ERA for the 1996 GCL Twins and 4-2 with a 4.05 ERA in 1997. Returning to Australia and worked as pharmaceutical salesman while playing first base for a local club team, the Blackburn Orioles of Victoria Baseball Division 1. He had back operations in 2001 and 2003. In 2003 he was a pitcher (1-0, 3.00 in 4 games) and first baseman for Taipei Gida of the Taiwan Major League. He appeared in the 2003 and 2006 Claxton Shield competitions as an infielder. Moylan began pitching for the Orioles in late 2005.

Moylan was a surprising addition to the 2006 World Baseball Classic roster of the Australian national team, based on his success in the 2006 Claxton Shield. He had added 10 miles per hour to his fastball, thanks to a new sidearm motion he had incorporated following his back injuries.

He pitched in 1 2/3 innings against Venezuela striking out Marco Scutaro, Bobby Abreu, Magglio Ordonez, and Ramon Hernandez while walking five. It would make him one of the WBC's success stories. He had a 5.40 ERA and no decisions.

Due to this performance, he was signed by the Braves and started the season at AAA Richmond. He was called up on April 10 to replace Joey Devine. He debuted two days later, relieving Lance Cormier in the 8th inning of a 7-5 loss. He retired Ryan Howard on a fly to CF Andruw Jones, allowed a double to David Bell, got Mike Lieberthal on a pop fly and struck out pinch-hitter David Dellucci. He returned to the minors. He was 1-7 with a save and a 6.35 ERA for Richmond in 2006, but had a 4.80 ERA in 15 games in 4 stints with the 2006 Atlanta Braves.

In 2007, Moylan pitched two hitless innings for Richmond while dazzling in Atlanta. He was 5-3 with a save and a 1.80 ERA in 80 outings for the 2007 Braves, allowing only 65 hits in 90 innings of work. He had only 19 unintentional walks. He tied Cla Meredith for 7th in the 2007 NL in appearances. He had the lowest ERA of any Brave to make 20 or more appearances.