TEMPE, Ariz. -- After being selected with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 Draft following a storybook career at the University of Tennessee, it was easy to imagine Christian Moore quickly establishing himself as the second baseman of the future for the Angels.
After all, Zach Neto rapidly ascended into the starting shortstop position and a face of the franchise after being the No. 13 selection in 2022, and Nolan Schanuel needed just 40 days in the Minors before becoming the starting first baseman after being the No. 11 pick in ’23.
Moore, 23, burst onto the scene with an incredible showing in the Minors in '24, only to deal with a minor knee injury that kept him from making his MLB debut. Last year, he finally got that chance to show what he could do, but it was a mixed bag, as he showed plenty of potential, including some clutch hits, but ultimately slashed .198/.284/.370 with seven homers, five doubles, 16 RBIs and three stolen bases in 53 games.
It’s why, even though the Angels would love to see Moore claim the starting second base job this spring, they also brought in several veterans to compete with him, such as Adam Frazier, Chris Taylor and Nick Madrigal.
“The talent is crazy, but it’s just getting reps,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “The guy's working hard every day. He's communicating, which is a huge thing for him. But with Christian, you don't ever put a timetable on it because players develop at their own pace.”
Giants manager Tony Vitello, who was Moore’s head coach at Tennessee from 2022-24, watched him blossom into one of college baseball’s most decorated players while leading the Volunteers to the College World Series title in ’24. He said he sees parallels in Moore’s rookie struggles to when he was a freshman in college, and he believes Moore will figure it out, because he’s one of the more cerebral players he’s coached -- and he likened him to likely future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer.
“Last year was reminiscent of freshman year when he wasn't starting every day and it wasn't ideal,” Vitello said. “In a weird way, no one gets more aggravated than Christian Moore. But that's a positive, because then all of a sudden he starts putting that brain to work, and he reminds me of Max a lot, bringing up that intelligence factor. When Christian shows up in uniform, he looks like an NFL safety. So that's immediately where your eyes and thoughts go. But his best weapon is his thought process.”
Moore, listed at 6 feet and 210 pounds, credits Vitello for helping him mature during his time in college and said he’s excited to compete for a starting role after learning from his experience in the Majors last year. He’s also been getting work at third base to increase his versatility, especially because veteran Yoán Moncada has been injury prone in recent years.
“It's definitely fast when you first get up there, when the lights are bright,” Moore said. “But just having some experience, understanding the game planning, whatever it is. I’m just a little more comfortable this year, understanding and getting to prepare my mind better.”
Moore made the most of his opportunity on Wednesday, when he homered off Padres right-hander Michael King for his first blast of the spring. Moore’s power was his calling card in college, and it would be huge for the Angels if he could unlock more of it as a big leaguer.
“He was facing a tough pitcher in King and hit a home run on a pitch that was pretty good, and might’ve even been a ball inside,” Suzuki said. “He kept it fair and he hit it out. No. 1, that's how strong he is. And No. 2, he's right where he wants to be and is getting better every day.”
Moore said he’s worked to shorten his swing in certain situations, as he struck out in 33.7 percent of his plate appearances last year, which is much higher than the league average of 22.5 percent. He spent the offseason in Arizona, often working out at the club’s Spring Training complex in Tempe.
He said he hasn’t set any lofty goals for himself just yet at this point in his career, as he just wants to be healthy and show what he can do.
“I just want to be consistent,” Moore said. “I want everybody to know that each and every day, you’re going to get the same player. I think right now in my career as far as goals, I don't really have that right now. I just want to stay healthy and play hard every day.”