Angels’ 2024 Draft Pick Seems Dead-Set on MLB Promotion

Will another Angel be the first player from his draft class to make the big leagues?

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Christian Moore only needed two games in Single-A before earning his promotion to Double-A.

Through three games in Rocket City, he has shown that he might not need more time before his next promotion.

Moore seems to be dead-set on making it to the big leagues and suiting up for the Los Angeles Angels this season.

Moore has now appeared in three games for the Trash Pandas and is hitting .462 with three home runs and four runs batted in.

In five career professional games, Moore is hitting .500 (12-for-24) with two doubles, four home runs, and 10 RBIs.

The storybook start to his professional career added another chapter on Wednesday when he hit a ninth inning walk-off home run for the Rocket City Trash Pandas against the Birmingham Barons. He finished the night 4-for-5 with two home runs and three RBIs.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

THIS MAN IS SIMPLY NOT REAL

CHRISTIAN MOORE WALKOFF HOMER IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 9TH!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/6ve1EjE1sG

— Rocket City Trash Pandas (@trashpandas) August 8, 2024

Moore accomplished a lot before the Angeles selected him eighth overall at this year's draft. The 21-year-old led Tennessee to a national championship and set program records for career (61) and single-season home runs (34).

Moore has only had one unproductive game this season. He was 0-for-4 on Tuesday and learned his lesson going into Wednesday's massive performance.

"Yesterday, the approach for them was to throw me offspeeds," Moore said. "Going into today, I had a different game plan. I was sitting on more offspeeds in certain counts. It was a good day, putting some good swings on it."

Moore was hunting offspeed and it's what he got. Both homers were on hanging offspeed pitches and so was his single in the fifth.

Wednesday, surprisingly, was the first walk-off home run in Moore's career, even including his youth baseball days.

"I hit a popup, and moments like that, you don't really forget," Moore said. "When you're in the cage as a kid, 'All right, last swing,' That's kind of the mindset you put yourself in — 3-2 count, I want to hit a walk-off or a game-winning home run. You definitely practice it a lot. For me to actually live it was definitely something cool. Hopefully, I get to do it again."

Moore has been across the country over the last couple of months. From Knoxville to Omaha to California to Alabama, his life has been a whirlwind.

"I've been all over, visiting new places that I've never been," Moore said. "It's really cool. At some point, when the season's over, or hopefully I have a long career when it's all said and done, I can kind of reflect and sit down and think about all the places I've been, all the people I've met, all the food I've tasted. ... I've been in so many different places, so many different states in the last couple of months. It's been fun, but it feels nice to have a home in Huntsville."