Angels’ 2024 first-round pick finally showed signs of being human last week

When the Los Angeles Angels selected Christian Moore in the 2024 MLB Draft, few expected him to immediately take the minors by storm the way that he did. He was certainly a really good draft prospect, but professional baseball is hard and draft picks usually need time to adjust to the pro game more often than not.

However, Moore instead went wild basically from day one in the Angels organization. After just two (very good) games at Low-A, the Angels made the decision to promote Moore straight to Double-A despite the risks in doing so. Initially, Moore rewarded their faith in him and continued his warpath.

Last week was a bit of a different story. While Moore still played well, his slowdown should serve as a reminder that Angels fans need to be patient with him as he develops despite how aggressive the team has been with him.

Angels' top draft pick Christian Moore finally slows down for a bit

There is no need to hit the panic button whatsoever with Moore. Instead, this is just a recognition of the impossibly high bar he had set during the start of his pro career. Last week, Moore "only" went 6-23 with no homers or RBI in six full games. The drop in production pulled his (still) insane line for 2024 in the minors down to .414/.469/.776 in a small 14-game sample.

Again, Moore is going to be just fine and is not overmatched in Double-A. He is still hitting the ball hard and did draw some walks last week, which was nice to see. There was just no world where he was going to maintain a .500 batting average while tearing the cover off the ball.

Hopefully, this forces the Angels to pump the brakes a bit with Moore. He has an exceedingly bright future, but adjusting to how professional pitchers attack him is a skill that needs to be acquired through repetition and experience. While Angels fans are looking for any reason to get excited about this team, assuming that Moore was going to debut in the majors this year may have been a premature notion. That said, we still like his chances to progress fast and debut as early as 2025.

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