Rangers select Malcolm Moore at #30

The Texas Rangers have used their first round draft pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, #30 overall, to select Stanford catcher Malcolm Moore.

I did a write up on Moore back in mid-June.

Malcolm Moore is a 6’2”, 210 lb. left handed hitting catcher who is a draft-eligible sophomore out of Stanford University. Moore was ranked as the #66 prospect on BA’s board as a high school senior in 2022, but went undrafted due to a combination of a strong commitment to Stanford and questions about his ability to stay behind the plate. He doesn’t turn 21 until the end of July, so he is one of the youngest three year college players in the draft.

Moore is a bat-first catcher, a guy who hits the ball and hits the ball hard. Both Keith Law and MLB Pipeline mention that his stats early on this year were not great, but the batted ball data was still very strong. He gets quality marks for his chase rate and bat-to-ball skills, though there are concerns about his ability to deal with good secondary pitches, and how well his stance and load will translate to the pros.

Moore has been exclusively a catcher at Stanford, though there continue to be questions about whether he will be able to stick at the position. He has a lot of work to do on the defensive end to catch regularly in the majors. Moore is slow and, if he can’t stay behind the plate, would likely end up at first base.

After slashing .311/.386/.564 as a freshman, with 21 walks and 50 Ks in 298 plate appearances, Moore saw his walk and K rates improve, with 44 walks against 35 Ks in 244 plate appearances this year, while also hitting more homers in fewer times at the plate. However, as alluded to above, his BABIP cratered such that his final slash line was just .255/.414/.553.

Moore was generally ranked in the 25-35 range on the various public boards out there.

Moore had been linked for some time to the Rangers, with a couple of places saying that if he was there that was who the Rangers would take. Moore’s bat makes him a very good pick at #30, if he can stay behind the plate. The Rangers appear confident he can do so.