Angels officially deliver final blow to draft pick experiment with September call-ups

When Spring Training broke for the Angels, there were some fans who believed the team made a mistake in not giving Christian Moore the reigns to second base early in the season. It was another young second base man - Kyren Paris - who instead provided the hot start for the Halos. When Christian Moore did finally get called up, it was arguably the most exciting news Angels fans had all season.

Angels officially deliver final blow to draft pick experiment with September call-ups

Now, as September begins, the Angels made the difficult decision to send Moore back down to the minor leagues rather than allowing him the chance to figure out MLB pitching over the final month of the season. Much has been made of how the Halos have handled Moore since his return from injury, with many fans arguing that he should be given an everyday role rather than in a revolving door alongside Luis Rengifo and Yoan Moncada (who, inarguably, are currently better than Moore). When Moore was called up, it signaled a push for contention by the Angels, but now his demotion is the ultimate white flag for both the Halos and Moore's 2025 season.

But sending Moore down was the right decision.

In 113 at-bats this season at the big league level, Moore hit .195 and has largely hovered around that mark since his call-up. He had an early power stroke - his two home run performance against the Red Sox was the best moment of the season for fans outside of sweeping the Dodgers twice - but has not been the same power threat post injury. And while his defense has been notably better than many expected from Moore at the major league level, it is clear a recess in the minor leagues is needed to develop his offensive game a bit more.

In the modern day MLB, when a top prospect comes to the majors and does not instantly produce, fans become alarmed. With rookies like Nick Kurtz becoming the best hitter in baseball since his arrival and Roman Anthony guiding the Red Sox to postseason contention, it is easy to forget that the large majority of prospects need one stint in the big leagues before finding their footing, if not multiple. Fans can look no further than Jo Adell, who is giving fans the breakout they have been waiting for and has been the best player on the Halos (not named Zach Neto) this season.

Moore has all of the tools to be a complete, exceptional MLB player. He has struggled adjusting to the stuff that big league pitchers throw at him, but a rebound in 2026 that sees Moore becomes the everyday second baseman is not out of the question just because he was sent down. In fact, him spending time honing in on the weaknesses of his game in Salt Lake City might make his successes in the years to come even more likely.

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