Angels prove they will never change with latest aggressive prospect promotion

If the Los Angeles Angels are known for one thing with their farm system, it's that they are more than willing to fast-track players to the big leagues (especially college hitters). We saw this when the Angels drafted Zach Neto in 2022, and then an even more extreme version when the team decided to have Nolan Schanuel make his big league debut last year despite only drafting him months prior.

With a firm track record of "all gas, no brakes" with their first-round picks, everyone expected Anaheim to again try and pick a quick-to-the-majors college player in the first round of the 2024 draft. While the Angels' position wasn't a perfect fit for that plan given the draft class, they ultimately settled on infielder Christian Moore out of Tennessee with the eighth overall pick.

Moore's defensive home is somewhat an open question, but the Angels loved his bat and power potential as well as the fact that he played in the toughest college conference. Moore made his pro debut at Low-A Inland Empire, and after six hits in his first 12 at-bats, including a homer, LA did what they do and immediately promoted Moore straight to Double-A.

LA Angels News: Halos stay aggressive after Christian Moore's promotion to Double-A

Before Angels fans get too excited considering the team's track record, this promotion does not mean that it is a lock that Moore is making his big league debut this year. While the team did that with Schanuel last year, there was actually a pretty decent argument for Moore to start at Double-A from the get-go. With the big league team going nowhere this year, there isn't the same urgency to have Moore make it to the majors that quickly and start his service clock so soon.

There is also a real question about the Angels' process overall and whether or not these extremely speedy promotions are actually accomplishing much. Both Neto and Schanuel have flashed their immense talent at times, but they have also had some real growing pains and are pretty ordinary hitters in the majors right now. They could easily turn out to be good players, but one wonders if the same result or better could be achieved by letting these guys work things out more in the minor leagues first.

The Angels seem to be convinced that this strategy is the move, however. If Moore impresses quickly at Double-A, it wouldn't be crazy to see LA give him a cameo appearance at Triple-A before the end of the season. However, a big league debut this year remains a very dubious option because, again, it isn't like he would move the needle for the Angels in 2024. And it could be dangerous for his development, like it's been for others.

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