Angels Prospect Says Pro Lifestyle Finally Starting to Slow Down

Maren Angus-Coombs | Aug 20, 2024

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Christian Moore has taken professional baseball by storm.

The first-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels this year hit the ground running and is destined for a big league debut sooner rather than later.

Moore earned Southern League Player of the Week honors after going 11-for-20 with a pair of four-hit games and two multihomer contests across five games between Aug. 5-12 for Double-A Rocket City.

The No. 8 overall pick is Major League Baseball's No. 80 overall prospect and sports a 1.484 OPS through his first 11 games as a pro.

Since winning a national championship with the University of Tennessee, Moore has been on the road nonstop. From Knoxville to Omaha to Arizona to Alabama, Moore is finally seeing a change of pace to his new lifestyle.

Christian Moore was the 8th overall pick in the 2024 Draft by the @Angels and is already making waves in Double-A! 🌊

The Southern League Player of the Week discusses his stellar start to pro ball and the mindset he takes to the ballpark each day.@trashpandas | @Moore10Chris pic.twitter.com/HH4NwCj5QH

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 16, 2024

"I would say that this week it’s started to slow down a little bit," Moore told Robert Flores, Lauren Shehadi, Dan Plesac and Mark DeRosa on MLB Network's MLB Central. "I’ve been traveling all over. I’ve been in different states, different places, just playing all over. So, this week, I’m a little bit more comfortable with the guys, playing with them for about a week and a half now. But, it’s definitely been fun. Definitely a journey I’ll never trade for anything else."

Moore has had to adjust quickly to speed of the game at the professional level compared to college and the pitching has been an even bigger adjustment for him to make.

"Guys are way more comfortable throwing fastballs in [at this level]," he told MLB Network. "You know, in college, it’s mostly two-pitch guys, now I’m facing starters that are four-pitch guys, who can locate anything. So, it’s just understanding that instead of me just sitting on a slider, maybe I have to sit on an off-speed, just something slower. And then go from there and react."

The Angels haven't shied away from promoting young prospects. Moore will most likely be the next one to make waves as large as Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto.

"If you work hard and you produce hopefully you’ll get a chance to be called up. That’s how I look at it," he said. "But, I just try to take it day by day. This game is obviously tough and if you start thinking about other stuff while you’re in the box bad things can happen. So, just try to take it day-by-day, pitch-by-pitch, and worry about winning ballgames."