Angels Prospect News: Christian Moore laps Caden Dana in MLB.com's prospect ranking

The Angels' pipeline is gradually inching its way up the national rankings, thanks in large part to their top dogs. Caden Dana and Christian Moore are integral to the Angels' future, but MLB.com now views one as slightly more valuable than another. While Dana has long been viewed as the higher ranked prospect, MLB.com now has Moore 10 spots higher in their Top 100 prospects list of 2025. Moore came in at no. 68, and Dana at no. 78.

Baseball America still has Dana ranked higher, but Moore has closed the gap significantly. In Baseball America's Top 100 prospects, they ranked Dana at no. 78 and Moore at no. 79. Despite being a second baseman and known more for his bat-to-ball skills/hit tool, Baseball America views Moore as the Angels' best power hitting prospect. Moore's certainly regarded for his balanced game, and tantalizing bat. He likely is gaining steam in national rankings due to taking third base reps during the Angels' instructional league. Moore could also find his way into the outfield at some point. Even if he never becomes a Gold Glove-caliber defender, as long as Moore boasts some positional versatility then he will likely stick around the big leagues for years to come.

In 2025, with the Angels looking to finally make the playoffs and end the single-longest current playoff drought in MLB, Moore will more than likely play a larger role than Dana in terms of major league contributions. While Dana has already debuted and is widely-lauded for his pitchability, the Angels have much-greater need for an infielder than starting pitcher next season (granted they do need more from both position groups). If Moore proves that he can handle both second and third base adequately at a big league level, the Angels will promote him and not think twice about it. Dana has a much longer shot of making it back to the bigs, as he has far more players ahead of him at his position.

It should again be noted that Dana has not regressed in the eyes of the national writers. The ranking is highly arbitrary, although noteworthy, because MLB.com still has both tabbed at a 55 overall future value grade. Even though he struggled mightily with the Angels at the end of last season, any major league evaluator who would ding a 20-year-old for a poor showing against major league talent would be certifiably insane and not credible whatsoever.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout