ANAHEIM -- There’s no organization quite like the Angels when it comes to promoting their Draft picks to the Majors in a hurry.
Right-hander Chase Silseth was the first player from the 2021 Draft to reach the Majors, shortstop Zach Neto was the first to get there from the ‘22 Draft and first baseman Nolan Schanuel was called up just 40 days after being the No. 11 pick last year.
Infielder Christian Moore, coming off an incredible junior season at the University of Tennessee, is well aware of that trend and wants to be the next to follow in that mold after being selected as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft on Sunday. The Angels went with two more polished college players on Day 1, taking Texas A&M right-hander Chris Cortez with the No. 45 pick and Dallas Baptist right-hander Ryan Johnson with the No. 74 selection.
“I want to be able to compete at the highest level as fast as I can,” said Moore, 21, who attended the Draft in person with his family in Texas. “But we haven't really talked that much about it. Obviously, I'm still at the Draft. But if I get the opportunity, I'm going to try and run with it.”
Moore is a name that’s certainly fresh in the minds of college baseball fans, given that he played a heavy role for the Tennessee team that just won its first Men’s College World Series title in school history. But Moore, the No. 13 ranked Draft prospect by MLB Pipeline, has been productive long before his recent stint in Omaha.
Despite having a successful prep career in Connecticut, during which he was ranked as a top-100 player nationally in his class by Perfect Game, Moore was not selected in the 2021 MLB Draft. Tennessee was more than happy to hear this, and he proceeded to become an immediate stud for the Volunteers, having an OPS above 1.000 in all three of his collegiate seasons.
2024 Draft presented by Nike:
Draft Tracker | First-round signings | All-time biggest bonuses
Pick-by-pick analysis: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
Bazzana goes No. 1 | Wake Forest makes history | Mariners nab switch-pitcher | Top 7 Day 1 storylines | Best hauls | Our favorite picks | Famous family ties | Biggest steals | These picks could be new club No. 1's | Picks who could be quickest to bigs | Sons of Manny, Big Papi selected | Complete coverage
Moore saved the best for last, though, with a 2024 season that checked just about every possible box from both an individual and team standpoint. Moore finished with career highs in batting average (.375), OBP (.451) and slugging percentage (.797), earning First Team All-American honors via both Baseball America and Perfect Game. Come postseason time, he became the first men’s player to hit for the cycle at the College World Series in 68 years, and the Volunteers became the first men’s team this century to win the CWS after entering as the No. 1 overall seed.
Angels scouting director Tim McIlvaine, who lives in Tennessee, got a first-hand look at Moore over the years and was impressed with not just his play but the way he carried himself.
“The more you see a guy, the more you can see all the little things he can do,” McIlvaine said. “You can see how hard they're working in practice. You can see how they react to failure. You can see when everything isn't going well, what they do to try and get out of it. The more you’re around, the better feel you get.”
Moore grew up idolizing Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter but profiles more as a second baseman. He said he’s plenty familiar with manager Ron Washington and his reputation as an infield guru because he worked with him as a 14-year-old as part of the MLB Develops program. He also was a teammate of reliever Ben Joyce in 2022 at Tennessee and played against Neto in college.
Moore said he learned the importance of instilling a winning culture while at Tennessee and wants to help be a part of the organization’s young core to bring the Angels back as perennial contenders.
“I'm a winner,” Moore said. “I'm ready to get to work with Angels. And I don't want to promise anything, but I will work every day as hard as I can to bring home a World Series.”
Cortez and Johnson joined Moore as Day 1 picks and both are considered close to being big league ready. Cortez dominated once converted to relief in college and could remain in that role, while Johnson has a funky delivery but possesses an effective sweeper and a history of success as a starting pitcher.
McIllvaine said it’s too early to say if Moore will be signed under the slot value of $6,502,800 to use money on other picks like Cortez or Moore. He also didn’t want to put too much pressure on him getting to the Majors as fast as their recent picks.
“Christian's a talented kid, like a lot of the guys in the system, we're going to let him go at his own pace,” McIlvaine said. “We’ll let Christian dictate when he’s ready. We're going to do as much as we can to get him ready for when he does come up to the big leagues. But for now, he's going to take his time.”