Texas Rangers First-Round Pick Takes His First Step Into A Larger World

The Texas Rangers have high hopes that 2024 first-round pick Malcolm Moore of Stanford is their catcher of the future.

Jul 24, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers first round draft pick Malcolm Moore throws out the first pitch before the game against the Chicago White Sox at Globe Life Field. / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers selected Stanford catcher Malcolm Moore in the first round of last month’s MLB Draft in the hope of bolstering their organizational depth at the position.

Earlier this week, Moore reached a milestone with his first professional home run.

The Rangers assigned Moore to High-A Hickory to start his professional career. While his bat has struggled early, the homer against Bowling Green was his third extra-base hit.

The left-handed hitting catcher sent a pull shot over the wall in right field to help give the Crawdads a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

First pro homer for 2024 first round pick Malcolm Moore! 💪 pic.twitter.com/vmP5uIE5rR

— Rangers Player Development (@TEXPlayerDev) August 21, 2024

In his first 10 games with the Crawdads, he slashed .156/.270/.313/.583 with two doubles, one home run, and two RBI. He has struck out 12 times in 32 at-bats and walked just twice.

Recently, Baseball America tracked the progress of each first-round pick and wrote this about Moore’s early progress:

Moore has stayed within the zone on his swing decisions but his 35.9% overall miss rate is a bit high and he’s also caught just 1-of-11 base stealers (9% caught stealing) in five games behind the plate.

The Rangers selected Moore No. 30 overall after a great career with the Cardinal. After the draft, MLB Pipeline installed him as the Rangers’ No. 5 overall prospect behind infielder Sebastian Walcott, pitcher Kumar Rocker, pitcher Alejandro Rosario, and pitcher Jack Leiter.

The All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection started 54 games and batted .255 with 42 runs, eight doubles, 16 home runs and 36 RBI. His 16 home runs was sixth in the Pac-12. He slugged .533 and had a .414 on-base percentage while drawing 44 walks, a team-high and third in the Pac-12.

He was also a Pac-12 All-Tournament selection after he batted .400 (4-for-10) with four runs, a double, three home runs and four RBI in three games.