Christian Moore doesn’t know much about the Los Angeles Angels. And Angels fans don’t know much about Christian Moore — a Brooklyn-born, Tennessee-educated slugger.
But just minutes after the Angels selected the 21-year-old infielder with the eighth overall pick of the MLB Draft on Sunday night, it was clear the match was instantly popular.
“I promise you, I’ll get a ring for sure,” Moore said on the Fort Worth, Texas, draft stage to MLB Network. “It’s in my blood.”
Speaking to Los Angeles media later in the evening, he walked the declaration back a little. He said he didn’t want to promise anything, but that he’d work as hard as possible to bring a World Series title back to Anaheim.
Promise or not, it’s a message that resonated with a franchise and fanbase hungry for a future to invest in and believe in. Moore has yet to play a professional baseball game, but made it clear in that comment he fits the mold of the younger core this Angels front office is trying to establish.
“He’s got kind of a flair for the dramatic,” said Angels scouting director Tim McIlvaine. “It seemed like every time (Tennessee) needed a big hit, (Moore) was right there to do it.”
This man is playing a video game!
Sixth cycle in program history and first ever in the postseason!
📺 https://t.co/dVeQaEJOOQ (ESPN)#GBO // #OTH // #MCWS // #BeatFSU pic.twitter.com/KNpempmq67
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) June 15, 2024
The question with the Angels is always a matter of when, not if. When will the polished college power hitter actually make the major leagues? It’s a fair question when last year’s top pick, Nolan Schanuel, played just 22 minor league games before debuting in the majors.
The Angels have a penchant for calling players up quickly. Particularly top draft picks. Schanuel and Zach Neto — the latter of whom sent Moore a congratulatory text immediately after his selection — are examples. Moore’s former Volunteers teammate, Ben Joyce, is another one with an expedited minor league experience.
McIlvaine chuckled at the idea of Moore being called up immediately. Maybe that won’t be the case. But Moore made it clear he hopes to be in the big leagues sooner than later.
“I want to be able to compete at the highest level as fast as I can,” Moore said. “I haven’t really talked to them much about it. But definitely, if I get the opportunity, I’m going to try and run with it.”
McIlvaine said the Angels view Moore as a second baseman, but acknowledged he has defensive versatility. They got to watch him closely this year, with McIlvaine living in Tennessee.
Moore said he was surprised to hear his name called at No. 8 overall. He noted that most projections had him outside the Top 10.
The Athletic’s Keith Law reported before the draft the Angels hoped to sign him significantly below the $6,502,800 slot value. The move that would give the organization some flexibility in later rounds.
McIlvaine said he couldn’t comment on compensation or draft strategy for subsequent picks.
“I’ve never been around a guy who can decide he wants to win and impact it the way he did,” his college coach Tony Vitello said on MLB Network. “In uniform, it’s very obvious how physical he is. Cognitively, he is off the charts.”
Moore remembered his freshman year physical at Tennessee as a turning point for his career. An eye exam found he had incredibly poor vision. Something that came as a surprise to him. But the remedies eventually led to where he is today.
They asked him to cover his left eye and read the letters in front of him at a distance. He could only see the first three. Same thing with the other eye.
“He’s like, ‘Dude, you’re blind.’ And I’m like, ‘Huh,’” Moore recalled. “‘Like how are you here right now? How are you a hitter in the SEC and you can’t see?’ ‘I don’t know, I’m just swinging at a white thing coming at my face.’
“Come to find out, my eyes were pretty bad. Having contacts, it’s definitely been good for me.”
I don’t think people realize how insane it is to hit it over the batters eye in Hoover, AL
Can’t remember anyone ever doing it
Christian Moore is insane pic.twitter.com/mf8OR3b1bQ
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) May 25, 2024
That eventually led him to his breakout season in 2024. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound power hitter crushed 34 homers and posted a 1.248 OPS en route to a College World Series title. He’s got some speed, and MLB Pipeline said he still needs to work on defensive consistency.
The Angels are trying to establish a younger core. After a decade of losing, the plan is for players like Neto, Logan O’Hoppe and others to re-establish a franchise that has long been the well-deserved butt of the baseball world’s jokes.
Moore fits right into that plan. He has the power and the pedigree. He has the boisterous personality. And he’s certainly not lacking in confidence.
Whether or not he’s successful remains to be seen. And whether or not the organization can produce a winner is a question mark.
But Moore represents that hope. And at the very least, he’s a proven winner.
“The city, I know they’re eager for a win,” Moore said. “They’re eager to win a World Series. And I’m a competitor. I’m going to do everything in my blood to be able to be there and show up for them each and every day. I’m a winner. That’s all you need to know.”
(Photo of Christian Moore, center, with coach Tony Vitello and MLB Network host Dan O’Dowd: Sam Hodde / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
