Tennessee baseball’s Christian Moore finds great fit with Los Angeles Angels

Tennessee baseball's first player taken off the board during the 2024 MLB Draft was second baseman Christian Moore, who was drafted No. 8 overall by the Los Angeles Angels.

Moore is the first Tennessee player to be drafted in the top ten in the Tony Vitello era and only the fourth since 1990. He joins Nick Senzel, Chris Burke, and Todd Helton as other Vols drafted in the top ten. 

The 2024 All-American hit .375 at the plate with 34 home runs and 74 RBIs. Moore also set Tennessee's career home run record with 61 home runs over the past three seasons. 

The Brooklyn, New York native will join former teammates Ben Joyce and Zach Joyce in the Angels organization. Ben has worked his way into one of the best relievers in the Angels' bullpen, while Zach is still working in the Angels' Single-A team. 

After taking the stage with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, he also gave a great speech. He gave shoutouts to his family, teammates, and "the GOAT" Tony Vitello, then declared his future, saying he would "for sure" win a World Series because it's in his blood.

While the Angels, as a franchise, haven't been great in recent years, this could be a great landing spot for Moore. He will need to develop in the minors, and I believe he will do fine and work his way up the organization's depth chart over the next couple of years. 

If Ron Washington is still the head coach for the Angels when Moore makes his major league debut, this could be the perfect situation for Moore. 

Washington did a great job developing middle infielders as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Braves. He helped second baseman Ozzie Albies and shortstop Dansby Swanson into top-level defenders for the Braves. 

You can also look at Austin Riley's defensive development from right field in his MLB debut to a premiere third baseman in the league. 

If there's one thing Moore struggled with down the stretch of Tennessee's national championship run, it's defense. His bat speaks for itself, but if he can work his way to the majors and Washington work his defensive magic, Moore could be the future at second base for the Angels. 

Another positive is that the last two first-round draft picks are already in the majors. The Angels have focused on drafting college players nearly ready for MLB action over the past two drafts in the first round.

It has worked out with 2022 first-round pick Zach Neto and 2023 first-round pick Nolan Schanuel, so if their plan works again, we could see Moore in the majors sooner rather than later. 

Being drafted by the Angels could also allow some Tennessee fans to see Moore play professionally before heading to the big stage in the City of Angels. The Angels' double-A team isn't too far from the Volunteer State. 

The Rocket City Trash Pandas is likely where Moore will play a lot of his games throughout the rest of the 2024 season, and the double-A team is based out of Huntsville, Alabama.