Name: Moises Chace
Position: RHP
Born: June 9, 2003
Country: Venezuela
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6’1″ 213lbs
How Acquired: Signed as an International Free Agent by the Orioles in 2019. Traded to the Phillies with Seth Johnson for Gregory Soto in July 2024
Signed: July 2, 2019
Bonus: $225,000
Options Remaining: 3
Rule 5 Eligible: 2023
MiLB Free Agency: 2026
Stats
Prospect Rankings
Role: Mid Rotation Starter
Risk: High – Chace has pitched 6 innings once, 5 innings 3 times, and thrown 80 pitches in a game 5 times. All of those events occurred after he was traded to the Phillies. He has command and pitchability things to work on still, but the raw stuff is ready now.
Summary: At the time of his trade to the Phillies, Chace was an interesting prospect, but certainly not an elite one. The Orioles had used him as a piggy back starter and mostly on the relief side. Even in his start against the BlueClaws the week of the trade he looked like a max effort thrower and not a pitcher. I don’t know what the Phillies told him, but it only took a few starts for him to look like a starting pitcher. Chace’s stuff certainly plays as a starting pitcher. His fastball is his best pitch, sitting 93-96 and touching up to 98, but the velocity is just an enhancement on the shape of the pitch, as Chace gets low and flat with good extension as well as plus rise. He can miss bats in the zone and for chases up above it too. He has a pair of breaking balls in a sweeper in the low 80s and a gyro slider in the mid 80s. The sweeper does not have huge movement, but it gives him a horizontal pitch to work with on the outside of the zone to righties, and it should be an above average to plus pitch. His more vertical slider gives him another weapon against lefties and a pitch that he can throw in the zone while working his fastball up. He will throw some great changeups and some that could use some work. Without full minor league data it is hard to tell, but he might also have a sinker in the mix. He threw more strikes with the Phillies, but he still gets some chases in the minors that he won’t in the majors, and he will need to dial his command in a bit more, especially since the fastball and slider should be throwable in the zone. Beyond the strike throwing, there is a decent fear of the unknown with Chace, as he just has a very short track record as a starting pitcher and holding up to deeper pitch counts and a consistent innings workload. While on the shorter side, Chace is thick enough he should hold up to a starter’s workload in the long term. Chace is on the 40 man roster now, but his 80.1 innings in 2024 represent a career high. With the Phillies pitching depth, they should have the opportunity to get him stretched out and ready for as early as next season.
2025 Outlook: Chace will return to Reading, and the biggest thing might just be to get him on a normal starting pitcher workload and cadence. There will probably be temptation to make him a reliever to help the major league team, but the Phillies have resisted that call in the past.
Role: Mid Rotation Starter
Risk: High – Chace has pitched 6 innings once, 5 innings 3 times, and thrown 80 pitches in a game 5 times. All of those events occurred after he was traded to the Phillies. He has command and pitchability things to work on still, but the raw stuff is ready now.
Summary: At the time of his trade to the Phillies, Chace was an interesting prospect, but certainly not an elite one. The Orioles had used him as a piggy back starter and mostly on the relief side. Even in his start against the BlueClaws the week of the trade he looked like a max effort thrower and not a pitcher. I don’t know what the Phillies told him, but it only took a few starts for him to look like a starting pitcher. Chace’s stuff certainly plays as a starting pitcher. His fastball is his best pitch, sitting 93-96 and touching up to 98, but the velocity is just an enhancement on the shape of the pitch, as Chace gets low and flat with good extension as well as plus rise. He can miss bats in the zone and for chases up above it too. He has a pair of breaking balls in a sweeper in the low 80s and a gyro slider in the mid 80s. The sweeper does not have huge movement, but it gives him a horizontal pitch to work with on the outside of the zone to righties, and it should be an above average to plus pitch. His more vertical slider gives him another weapon against lefties and a pitch that he can throw in the zone while working his fastball up. He will throw some great changeups and some that could use some work. Without full minor league data it is hard to tell, but he might also have a sinker in the mix. He threw more strikes with the Phillies, but he still gets some chases in the minors that he won’t in the majors, and he will need to dial his command in a bit more, especially since the fastball and slider should be throwable in the zone. Beyond the strike throwing, there is a decent fear of the unknown with Chace, as he just has a very short track record as a starting pitcher and holding up to deeper pitch counts and a consistent innings workload. While on the shorter side, Chace is thick enough he should hold up to a starter’s workload in the long term. Chace is on the 40 man roster now, but his 80.1 innings in 2024 represent a career high. With the Phillies pitching depth, they should have the opportunity to get him stretched out and ready for as early as next season.
2025 Outlook: Chace will return to Reading, and the biggest thing might just be to get him on a normal starting pitcher workload and cadence. There will probably be temptation to make him a reliever to help the major league team, but the Phillies have resisted that call in the past.
Season Reports/Highlights
Phillies Minor League Monthly Retrospective – September and Full Season 2024
Best Debut: Moises Chace, RHP
It isn’t that Chace put up good stats after being traded to the Phillies, it is that he improved greatly as a prospect as well. He was more of a thrower and trending as a reliever, but upon arrival in the Phillies organization he began pitching more like a starting pitcher. His fastball has great shape, and he can get misses in and above the zone with it. His sweeper looks good, but he needs to work on throwing it for strikes in addition to chases. His changeup makes it a complete starter’s arsenal. He probably will add a cutter (rather than the Phillies’ normal sinker second fastball) eventually and looks like a very interesting starting pitching prospect going forward.
Phillies Minor League Recap (Week 23 8/27-9/2)
6 IP 1 H 0 R 0 BB 13 K
On Saturday, Chace put together what is likely the best start by a Phillies prospect this season. It is a total surprise, as in his 3 previous starts he had gone 14.2 innings with 7 hit, 4 ER, 6 walks, and 23 strikeouts. A big thing the Phillies had been working with Chace, since coming over from the Orioles for Gregory Soto, is to pitch like a starting pitcher. Prior to joining the Phillies organization he had not pitched more than 4 innings in an appearance and was averaging 18.8 pitches per inning. In his previous appearances he still looked a bit like a reliever starting, but that chanced this week. Chace was fastball heavy early, but starting working in the changeup and sweeper in more as he turned the lineup over. He also spotted his fastball in the zone and both high and low, in addition to up for whiffs. There were also a few batters caught looking when he threw a high sweeper or changeup in the zone when they were expecting the fastball. The result was a total of 81 pitches, and day ended by innings and not pitch count. Overall, Chace is averaging 16.9 pitches per innings with the Phillies and a much reduced walk rate. A big part of all of this is that his stuff is just good enough to attack hitters. Even if you didn’t know the background numbers on his fastball, you would say it pops out. It has that look like it is getting faster and rising up. He comes in real low and has good vertical break on it, and at 93-96 (reportedly touching 97 this week) it is an at least plus pitch that is a big weapon up in the zone. His changeup has good movement, but it still feels like he needs to throw it with a bit more command and deception off the fastball. His sweeper has good two plan movement and he is landing it in the strike zone and not just for chases. He still has a ways to go, but this week was a real look at the dominance when he actually just pitches.
Phillies Minor League Monthly Retrospective – August 2024
When Chace joined the Phillies organization he was starting the game in about half of his appearances as part of Baltimore’s piggy back system. He has not pitched more than 4 innings or thrown more than 80 pitches in an outing. He showed good stuff including his flat riding fastball, sweeper, and changeup, but I worried about how much success he would have turning a lineup over multiple times and working deeper into games. He has proven to be adept at it, even while moving up to AA Reading. In his last start, he was able to introduce secondary pitches as he turned the lineup over and was able to attack the strike zone and not just fish for chases. There are still improvements to be made on the nuances of starting pitching, but the last month of Chace going from a 3-4 inning high output per IP to carrying that into 5+ inning appearances is a big step forward.
Phillies Minor League Monthly Retrospective – September and Full Season 2024
Best Debut: Moises Chace, RHP
It isn’t that Chace put up good stats after being traded to the Phillies, it is that he improved greatly as a prospect as well. He was more of a thrower and trending as a reliever, but upon arrival in the Phillies organization he began pitching more like a starting pitcher. His fastball has great shape, and he can get misses in and above the zone with it. His sweeper looks good, but he needs to work on throwing it for strikes in addition to chases. His changeup makes it a complete starter’s arsenal. He probably will add a cutter (rather than the Phillies’ normal sinker second fastball) eventually and looks like a very interesting starting pitching prospect going forward.
Phillies Minor League Recap (Week 23 8/27-9/2)
6 IP 1 H 0 R 0 BB 13 K
On Saturday, Chace put together what is likely the best start by a Phillies prospect this season. It is a total surprise, as in his 3 previous starts he had gone 14.2 innings with 7 hit, 4 ER, 6 walks, and 23 strikeouts. A big thing the Phillies had been working with Chace, since coming over from the Orioles for Gregory Soto, is to pitch like a starting pitcher. Prior to joining the Phillies organization he had not pitched more than 4 innings in an appearance and was averaging 18.8 pitches per inning. In his previous appearances he still looked a bit like a reliever starting, but that chanced this week. Chace was fastball heavy early, but starting working in the changeup and sweeper in more as he turned the lineup over. He also spotted his fastball in the zone and both high and low, in addition to up for whiffs. There were also a few batters caught looking when he threw a high sweeper or changeup in the zone when they were expecting the fastball. The result was a total of 81 pitches, and day ended by innings and not pitch count. Overall, Chace is averaging 16.9 pitches per innings with the Phillies and a much reduced walk rate. A big part of all of this is that his stuff is just good enough to attack hitters. Even if you didn’t know the background numbers on his fastball, you would say it pops out. It has that look like it is getting faster and rising up. He comes in real low and has good vertical break on it, and at 93-96 (reportedly touching 97 this week) it is an at least plus pitch that is a big weapon up in the zone. His changeup has good movement, but it still feels like he needs to throw it with a bit more command and deception off the fastball. His sweeper has good two plan movement and he is landing it in the strike zone and not just for chases. He still has a ways to go, but this week was a real look at the dominance when he actually just pitches.
Phillies Minor League Monthly Retrospective – August 2024
When Chace joined the Phillies organization he was starting the game in about half of his appearances as part of Baltimore’s piggy back system. He has not pitched more than 4 innings or thrown more than 80 pitches in an outing. He showed good stuff including his flat riding fastball, sweeper, and changeup, but I worried about how much success he would have turning a lineup over multiple times and working deeper into games. He has proven to be adept at it, even while moving up to AA Reading. In his last start, he was able to introduce secondary pitches as he turned the lineup over and was able to attack the strike zone and not just fish for chases. There are still improvements to be made on the nuances of starting pitching, but the last month of Chace going from a 3-4 inning high output per IP to carrying that into 5+ inning appearances is a big step forward.