Angels No.1 Prospect Christian Moore Finding Barrels With Salt Lake Bees
Jun 7, 2025, 3:05 PM | Updated: Jun 11, 2025, 11:49 am
Los Angeles Angels top prospect Christian Moore looks for a pitch to hit with the Salt Lake Bees. (Courtesy Lauren Henwood & Salt Lake Bees)
(Courtesy Lauren Henwood & Salt Lake Bees)
SALT LAKE CITY – Los Angeles Angels top prospect Christian Moore hasn’t missed a beat after a promotion to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees in May. Moore has exploited the thin air of Salt Lake City, launching two long balls since making the jump.
The 2024 first-round pick out of Tennessee earned a May 20 promotion to Salt Lake and has hit more than 70 points better with the Bees in 15 games.
MLB.com listed Moore as the Angels’ top prospect in its 2025 preseason rankings.
“My goal was to get back to myself and what I like to do in the box and feel comfortable,” Moore said of his mindset when he arrived in Utah.
RELATED: Angels No. 1 Prospect Christian Moore Shines In Salt Lake
Angels top prospect Christian Moore is on a hot stretch
– first 17 games with Rocket City: .538 OPS, 32.4 K%, 71 PA
– last 17 games with Rocket City: .776 OPS, 22.7 K%, 75 PA
– as of this swing (15 gms) with AAA Salt Lake: .873 OPS, 28.8 K%, 66 PA pic.twitter.com/fu0zweR6l7— Taylor Blake Ward (@TaylorBlakeWard) June 6, 2025
Moore is slashing .333/.414/.467 in 15 games while playing solid defense up the middle. Despite a small sample size, he is far outpacing the numbers he put up in 34 games with Double-A Rocket City to begin the season.
“If you hit the ball on the barrel, good things happen,” Moore chuckled while discussing his focus at the plate. “Whether you’re hard in the infield, whether you’re a hard line drive, whether you’re in the air, you can learn something.”
Moore has doubled his early-season home run output, and his 11 RBI in 19 fewer games are three short of his Trash Panda total.
Despite facing older and more experienced pitchers at this level, Moore is surging. Learning and adjusting remain a key focus.
“These guys on the mound are good,” Moore said. “A bunch of them that I’m facing in Triple-A have major league experience. Understanding what they’re trying to do to me and building an approach is what we’re trying to do.
Moore unfazed by Triple-A jump
One year removed from leading the Tennessee Volunteers to a College World Series title, Moore simplifies his approach to the game, allowing him to remain even-keeled in any environment.
“When you have a big crowd and you’re playing in front of a lot of people. Having that hype is so much pressure,” he remembered. “I don’t really think it’s pressure. I think, you know, we’re just playing baseball.”
Moore believes his experience at Tennessee has helped in his transition to the pros.
“It’s helped me so much because in that little eight-team Omaha tournament, there are the best teams in the country. Every guy is really good. Every guy’s amped up, thinking they’re going to have their best.”
Moore jumped right into the Bees’ lineup, notching four hits in his first two games. He followed that up with his first four-hit game of the year and his first home run against the Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City Royals).
“You see the athleticism and explosiveness,” Bees hitting coach Alonzo Powell said of Moore. “Everything that you saw last year in college and his first pro year, you see that he’s got the opportunity to be a really good, explosive major league player.
"Rocky Top puts the @SaltLakeBees on top!"@Vol_Baseball all-time home run leader Christian Moore (@Angels) goes 450 feet to straightaway center ‼️ pic.twitter.com/lYSh1pTZyc
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 6, 2025
Staying steady with his approach and daily routine will be the key for Moore to reach his sky-high ceiling at the plate.
“Everything is consistency,” Powell said. “Dominating the fastball, handling the offspeed pitches, and understanding the strike zone. Those are the challenges that he’s going to face at this level against older, more experienced pitchers.”
Moore echoed his coach’s thoughts.
“I definitely need to be more consistent with everything, whether it’s approach, whether it’s defense. Whatever aspect it is in my game, it’s just consistency.”
About Christian Moore
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Moore was a two-way stud at Suffield Academy in Connecticut. A four-time Perfect Game Preseason All-American, he left Suffield as the No. 91 prospect in the country and fifth-best out of New York by Perfect Game.
Showing an uncommon loyalty, Moore committed to the University of Tennessee as a high school freshman.
“Coach Vatello and Coach Elander, we really clicked,” Moore said of his decision to sign with the Vols. “Coach E was the main person reaching out, and he was really consistent. When I toured there, Tennessee wasn’t the Tennessee they are now… I just saw something. I saw myself fitting in.”
Nobody hit the ball like Christian Moore did in the postseason pic.twitter.com/KGHhAt3HdY
— More Important Issues (@More_Issues) May 29, 2025
Moore piled up gaudy offensive numbers, slashing .338/.447/.697 with 35 doubles, 160 RBI, and a program record 61 home runs. He launched 34 homers as a junior, good for third in the nation behind two other SEC hammers, Charlie Condon of Georgia, and Jac Caglione of Florida.
Caglione was recently promoted to the big leagues by the Kansas City Royals. Condon is in High A with the Colorado Rockies.
In 2024, Moore earned All-SEC first team, Perfect Game All-American first team, Baseball America first team, D1Baseball.com All-American first team, and NCBWA District 3 Player of the Year in the regular season.
He was also named to the Men’s College World Series All-Tournament Team (2B) for the World Series-winning Volunteers.
Last year, he won a national championship with Tennessee. This year, he's looking to break big league camp. 😤
Catch Christian Moore playing for the @Angels at #SpringBreakout this weekend pic.twitter.com/f15hLWFUsE
— MLB (@MLB) March 11, 2025
The Angels took notice, selecting Moore with the eighth pick of the 2024 MLB draft.
Two games with the Angels’ Single-A affiliate were enough to earn his first professional promotion to Double-A Rocket City.
Moore finished 2024 playing 23 games with the Trash Pandas. He hit .322 with four doubles, five homers, and 14 RBI.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
