If you weren’t familiar with Adam Moore, and you wandered into the Mariners spring training luncheon at Safeco Field last February, you would have left thinking Moore was destined to be the next Johnny Bench, Pudge Rodriguez or at least something definitely better than then-starting catcher Kenji Johjima.

Over the course of that afternoon, Moore’s name was mentioned by new Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik, new manager Don Wakamatsu, minor league director Pedro Grifol, reliever Mark Lowe and just about anybody else who took the podium to speak about the Mariners and their players.

More importantly, Moore’s name wasn’t just mentioned in casual passing. There was a point and a reason for saying it. It was used when asked about the top talent in the minor leagues. It was offered when talk of certain players who were off-limits for trade discussions arose. It was uttered when the Mariners talked about the future and players to build around.

In short, Adam Moore’s name was used and used often as a compliment to the 25-year-old catcher, his seemingly limitless talent and his place within the organization.

But to start this season, Moore as a prospect seemed more like a concept for local Mariners fans since they had never seen him play. He was scheduled to start the season with the Triple-A Rainiers, but the way the big league roster slotted out, he was returned to Double-A West Tennessee.

However, on May 14, Moore was called up to the Rainiers and has since then established himself as an everyday catcher, a major step toward reaching the potential that so many in the organization spoke of on that February day.

THE TALK

Of course, Moore, who was spending his offseason as he always does in his native Texas, had no idea that his ears should’ve been burning from the February flattery.

“I had no idea,” he said during spring training. “Pedro would mess with me and say, “quit reading the papers and believing every thing they say.”

Not that Moore would allow that kind of stuff to go to his head in the first place. Along with his distinctive Southern drawl there comes a Southern ease that brings to mind sweet tea and barbecue. So getting a little love from the organization higher-ups wasn’t going to change him into some sort of diva.

“He doesn’t pay attention to that kind of stuff,” Mariners catching coordinator Roger Hansen said in the spring. “He’s not that type of kid.

Moore uses the word “mellow” when such talk arises. Off the field at least, nothing seems to get him too high or too low.

Of all the talk regarding him, the part that resonated the most was the Mariners’ reluctance to offer him as part of any potential trades. Seattle made it clear he wasn’t going to be a part of any trades.

“That’s made me feel good that Seattle wanted to keep me here and didn’t want to let me go,” Moore said. “It’s always in back of my mind that this organization likes me and likes what I’ve done on the field so far.”

But really it was the Mariners’ belief in what he could do on the field in the future.

THE PROGRESS

Most people, including Moore himself, figured he would start this season in Tacoma after hitting .319 with 34 doubles, 15 home runs, 71 RBI and 60 runs scored last season last season at Double A West Tenn. His performance made him an All-Star in the Southern League and the Mariners development staff named him the team MVP.

He seemed to prove himself capable and ready to move up.

But because of the makeup of the major league roster, including the decision to keep Jamie Burke in reserve in Tacoma, Moore was back at West Tenn to start this season. If Moore was disappointed, he didn’t let on.

“They have plans for all of us,” he said. “It is what is.”

Perhaps the disappointment was minimal since he was called up to Triple-A early in May when Jamie Burke was called to Seattle while Jeff Clement was battling knee issues.

“Things worked themselves out,” Moore said. “I knew I would get here eventually.”

What Moore found was that Triple A has a higher level of baseball that demands a higher level of commitment both physically and mentally.

While there has been little question of his physical gifts and tools, the mental grind has been a bit of a transition.

“It’s a grind, I’ve never been exhausted mentally like this,” Moore said.

Why? Well at Triple-A, talent doesn’t rule over all else, since every player is talented enough to be one step away from the big leagues. It means that Moore is challenged by better, experienced pitchers at the plate, must handle better, experienced pitchers while behind the plate, and also learn to call a game that will help his pitchers challenge and retire top quality hitters.

And each of those aspects takes time for adjustment.

At the plate, Moore can no longer work the count to 2-0 or 3-1 and expect to see a fastball every time. Pitchers are too good and won’t give in because they are confident in their off-speed stuff.

“Three out of every five starters here can throw strikes with every one of their pitches in any counts,” Moore said.

While Moore hasn’t had to change his approach at the plate, he has had to adjust his understanding of what pitchers are trying to do.

“You can get yourself out very easily here,” he said. “You get yourself in counts where you think a fastball is coming and you don’t see it. And you swing through something and then you are behind.”

‘GAP-TO-GAP’ HITTER

Moore appears to have made his adjustment quickly. He is hitting .307 (51-for-166) with 12 doubles, four homers and 22 RBI in 44 games with Tacoma.

“Everything he’s shown at the plate says he has a chance to hit at the big-league level,” Brown said.

One thing to remember is that Moore isn’t a power hitter. He has more power than he’s shown, but even he labeled himself a “gap-to-gap” hitter and prefers to hit the ball from “center to right-center.”

“I don’t think he’s a 30 home run guy,” Brown said. “But I think he can hit 15 to 20.”

Yet hitting may be the easiest facet for Moore to learn as he rises. The finer points of defense and calling a game aren’t quite as simple, though they can’t be overlooked. Wakamatsu, himself a former catcher, places a heavy premium on defense and handling the pitching staff first, hitting second. It’s why Rob Johnson is in the major leagues now.

“You have to get them to understand the better they are defensively, the more time it buys them to become a decent offensive player,” Wakamatsu said.

ALL THE TOOLS

An above-average athlete, Moore has the tools to be a good defensive catcher. He has a strong arm and good feet. It’s just a matter of fine tuning all the little things defensively.

“He just needs to put it all together on a consistent basis,” Hansen said.

It isn’t easy. Wakamatsu called it “a daunting task” for a catcher to balance hitting with his defensive duties

It’s more than just putting down the correct number of fingers to call pitches. It isn’t just about called for a slider, but where the slider is located and what a hitter could do with it in that spot.

“You have to concentrate on every pitch you call and every spot,” Moore said.

Growing comfortable with that responsibility doesn’t just happen in one or two games. It takes a catcher one or two seasons.

“It takes a lot of innings,” Wakamatsu said. “It takes a lot of time to start to break down the personality traits of certain pitchers and hitters.”

But Moore embraces the task.

“I love the challenge,” he said.

He’s drawn compliments from ex-Seattle catcher Dan Wilson and the always tough Hansen.

“People underestimate Adam in how smart he is and how tough he is,” Hansen said. “Once he puts it all together, you will see a tremendous catcher.”

With continued success maybe Moore will make the short trip up I-5 sometime this September to join the Mariners.

“I stay as mellow about it as I can,” he said. “It does cross my mind that there is one more level and that’s the big leagues and that’s where you always dreamed of going. Hopefully, some day I’ll get the call.”

If he does, expect everyone to already know his name.

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483

ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com

blogs.thenewstribune.com/mariners

Adam Moore file

Born: May 8, 1984, in Longview, Texas

Education: Graduated from Mineola (Texas) High School and attended Northeast Texas CC, University of Nebraska and University of Texas-Arlington.

Home: Mineola, Texas

Position: Catcher

Height: 6-3

Weight: 220

2009 stats: 44 games, .307 batting average (51-for-166), 12 doubles, four homers, 22 RBI, .347 OBP, .452 slugging percentage.

Mariners career: Selected by Seattle in the sixth round of the 2006 draft. … Rated by Baseball America as the sixth-best prospect in the organization in 2009. … In 2007, he played 115 games at Class A High Desert, hitting .307 with 30 doubles, 22 home runs and 102 RBI, earning the team’s MVP award. … In 2008, he hit .319 with 34 doubles, 14 home runs and 71 RBI, also earning the team MVP award and league all-star honors. He fractured his thumb on his glove hand in the final game of the season and had surgery to place four pins in it.

Ryan Divish, The News Tribune