Angels' Christian Moore on Likely MLB Call-Up: 'Right Now I'm a Trash Panda'

Moore was the team's No. 8 overall pick.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Angels first-round pick Christian Moore is already lighting up the minor leagues despite playing in fewer than 10 games for the Angels' affiliates since getting drafted.

The No. 8 overall pick out of Tennessee was already promoted to Double-A after just two games in Single-A. He skipped High-A, and began playing for the Rocket City Trash Pandas within a week of his minor league debut.

During his two appearances in Single-A, Moore recorded six hits, five runs, one home run and six RBIs. In six games with Double-A Rocket City, Moore is slashing .542/.577/1.167 with 13 hits, nine runs, five home runs, and seven RBIs.

Moore's quick start has ignited talk of the Angels calling up the infielder to the majors already, but Moore remains focused on his play with Rocket City.

"Obviously the media says a lot of things, and people have a lot of speculation about things," Moore told The Athletic's Sam Blum. "I know there’s things I need to take care of each and every day. And if the Angels and whoever makes that decision decides to call me up, that’s great."

"But I’m not going to sit here every day and try to think about it. I’ve got to play ball at the end of the day, and that’s what I’ve got to focus on," Moore added. "Right now I’m a Trash Panda, and I’m worried about winning games for the Trash Pandas. If they want me to go up there and help them win games, obviously I’ll do it. But right now I’m worried about where my feet are."

The chatter is not unwarranted, even if it means Moore would skip Triple-A. After all, the Angels have become known for calling players up to the major leagues quickly as they have recently selected pro-ready players high in the draft.

Last season, the Angels called up Nolan Schanuel, their 2023 first-round pick, after just 22 games in the minor leagues. Along with Schanuel, Zach Neto made his debut early in the 2023 season after he was drafted in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Both Neto and Schanuel were the first players in their draft classes to get called up to the majors, and Moore appears on track to do the same.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian told Blum there is no timetable for when he plans to call up Moore.