Angels baffling handling of Christian Moore adds confusion to his future

The Los Angeles Angels are a truly confounding franchise. This is nothing new, of course, but their handling of Christian Moore is something that will truly make you scratch your head. The Angels selected Moore out of the University of Tennessee, one pick ahead of former No. 1 overall prospect Konnor Griffin. Part of the reason for Moore's selection was that he would be closer to big league ready than the highly-touted high school product.

The Angels have never met a prospect that they haven't rushed, but with Moore, they showed something resembling restraint. After playing 25 games between Single-A and Double-A, and hitting an impressive .347/.400/.584 in 2024, Los Angeles held him down for another 54 games last season before calling him up on June 13. The 79 games of minor league experience seemed like an eternity compared to the likes of Nolan Schanuel, Zach Neto, and others.

Moore proved that he needed more seasoning in 2025 and specifically needed to put work into fixing his whiff problem. He's done that to a decent degree. While his 27.6% whiff rate this year is a roughly average mark, it's a marked improvement from the 36.9% clip he put up last year.

All told, he's slashing .295/.453/.508 with a stunning 22.2% walk rate and 19.9% strikeout rate over 33 games and 161 plate appearances at Triple-A Salt Lake. So, after not getting the call due to positional needs when Josh Lowe was demoted, Nolan Schanuel's placement on the IL should have been a golden opportunity to call up the 23-year-old to fill the void. Instead, the Halos went with journeyman Nick Madrigal, who last played in the majors on June 1, 2024, almost two full years ago.

The Angels risk ruining Christian Moore as they continue to prove that they have no idea how to develop prospects

This isn't a case of a slumping player being propped up by a hot start. If anything, it's the opposite. Moore spent some time on the IL from the end of April through the beginning of May, with a minor leg injury. At the time he hit the IL, he was hitting .219/.437/.452. Since coming of the IL, he's hit .408 with a 1.070 OPS.

At a certain point, you just have to throw your hands up and ask what gives. Moore has done everything the Angels have asked for. He's fixed his fatal flaw, or at least brought it down to a manageable degree. He's learned third base in addition to his natural second base, and pretty much split his time evenly between the two positions.

Most importantly, he's hit and hit and then hit some more. At his lowest potential outcome, he's a better player than Madrigal, and he's got the requisite minor league experience, given his collegiate background, that most teams would feel comfortable promoting him.

Yet here we are. The club that rushes everyone is slow-playing a talented youngster who clearly deserves a shot. At 21-34, it's not like they can turn to the contending excuse. This is when you call up young players with potential and look towards the future.

Instead, the Angels are apparently willing to risk Moore's stagnation. They're gambling that he won't become filled with frustration. They're sticking their heads in the sand and assuming that even if those things happen, it will have no impact on his future outlook.

It could, and very well likely will. And if it does, the Angels will have ruined yet another top prospect, just this time, it will be in a different way than they normally do.

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