Former Angels First-Round Draft Pick Has Breakthrough Week in Minors

The writing was on the wall. Christian Moore was the Angels' first-round pick in the 2024 MLB draft. Their Opening Day second baseman, Brandon Drury, was the worst position player in baseball last year.

Given the Angels' proclivity to aggressively promote their top prospects, the pathway to a job in Anaheim was wide open for Moore.

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The path is not always a straight line. Although he blasted through the minor league ranks to Double-A Rocket City in less than a week, Moore suffered a meniscus injury after playing 22 games for the Angels' Southern League affiliate.

Moore returned to play one game in September after the injury. He slashed .322/.378/.533 in 23 games after his early promotion, and was a consensus Top-100 prospect entering the 2025 season. According to MLB.com, Moore would have been a September call-up if not for the injury.

Still, the 22-year-old needed a strong spring training to show that he could hit major league pitching so early in his career. He did not deliver. Moore started hot (3 for 7 in four games) but ended up slashing .217/.321/.283 in 25 games.

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Moore, the No. 8 overall selection in last year's draft, was assigned to Double-A to begin the regular season. His struggles continued through the season's first two weeks.

Christian Moore at AA Rocket City: pic.twitter.com/7RJ1CnI9Ec
— AngelsMiLB (@AngelsMiLB) April 28, 2025

Not until the third week of the Southern League season did the flashes of talent Moore showed in 2024 reappear.

After posting a .156 batting average, .442 OPS, and 18 strikeouts in 13 games to begin the regular season, Moore slashed .300/.482/.600 (1.082 OPS) in the next six games.

Then, on Tuesday, he hit his first home run of the season.

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Moore's walk and strikeout rates have improved, as well, putting him back on track to fulfill his prospect potential — if not seize a 26-man roster spot.

The Angels appeared set at second base when Kyren Paris got off to a hot start to begin the regular season, but he's cooled off since slugging five home runs in his first 24 games.

One week's worth of stats is less telling of the Angels' opinion of Moore than the long look they got of him in spring training.

“I've been very impressed with his ability to apply when you give him information,” manager Ron Washington said of Moore in February. “He's a super athlete. And I'm not just talking about baseball. If he was a basketball player, it'd be the same. If he was a football player, it’d be the same. He's just a super athlete, and he knows how to absorb information and he's been applying it. I've been very impressed.”

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