Rangers delighted to finally see results from top catching prospect

After being drafted 30th overall two years ago, the professional baseball journey has been far from smooth for the Texas Rangers 18th best prospect in Malcolm Moore.

Drafted out of Stanford, the 22-year-old Moore was the second catcher off the board in 2024 after a two-year collegiate career where he batted .288 with a nearly .400 on-base percentage and .958 OPS but wasn't necessarily the strongest fielding catcher.

His first season in 2025 was derailed early after breaking his right hand in April, missing two months and finished the season in High-A Hub City with a .198/.293/.271 slash line. However, this season he's finding his stride, much to the happiness of the Rangers.

Moore's healthy and finally finding his footing

Hitting .267 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in his first 24 games of the season, Moore is on a roll, especially in May. For seven games, Moore's slash line has skyrocketed to .360/.467/.560 and a 1.027 OPS.

Moore capitalized on May's success with a third inning grand slam in Tuesday's Spartanburger's 13-11 win over Asheville. It was one of his two hits on the night where he finished the night 2-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored.

It was going to be a long climb for the former first round pick but some worried it would be too much for Moore. After two sad seasons from Heim and the veteran catcher duo of Kyle Higashioka and Danny Jansen taking over, Moore's development time can only be 2-3 years before Texas wants him up helping the big league club.

Moore is heir apparent for Rangers' future at catcher

When the six-foot, 216 pound catcher was drafted, Chris Young and his scouting department saw him as the perfect option to be the next best thing for the organization's solution at catcher.

Prior to last season, MLB draft insiders picked Moore to be Rangers top prospect by 2027. While that was a broken bone ago, now that the team is seeing positive productivity, the draft profile might not be far off.

"An offensive-minded catcher, Moore was the second backstop selected (30th overall in the first round) in the 2024 Draft. He's a left-handed hitter with plus raw power and he made strides with his plate discipline and defense during his time at Stanford," according to MLB.

Even with the consensus concerns surrounding Moore's longevity as a catcher, the team didn't seem too worried about it back in February 2025 and that tune hasn't changed much over a year later as he is getting daily reps in High-A as their backstop.

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