Vols’ Christian Moore taken 8th overall in the MLB Draft to the LA Angels

Another first-round pick from Vitello’s Vols

The first two rounds of the MLB Draft were held Sunday evening, and Tennessee fans didn’t have to wait long to hear Moore’s name called when he became the eight-straight college player taken to start the draft going to the Los Angeles Angels.

Moore was the centerpiece of UT’s National Championship offense in 2024, as he led the team in multiple categories including hits (111), runs (83), home runs (34) and total bases (236) while finishing second on the team in batting average at .375 out of the lead-off spot. He was dubbed a First-Team All-American by D1 Baseball and Perfect Game.

The Brooklyn, NY., native became the second player ever to hit for the cycle during the College World Series opener when Tennessee came from behind to beat Florida State. Moore’s 440-foot home run in the sixth inning completed his cycle and brought the Vols within two runs en route to the come-from-behind win against the Seminoles.

What really stood out about Moore’s ‘24 season was how he lit up SEC competition. Once league play started, he hit .429 with a team-leading 1.386 OPS and an eye-popping .925 slugging percentage to go with his 57 hits, 20 long balls and 41 RBIs.

While he burst onto the national scene this past year, Moore had been a productive player for UT since his freshman year. He nearly doubled some of his offensive numbers in each year with the Vols, as he hit .305 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs in 118 at bats his freshman season and then clubbed 17 dingers with 50 RBIs in 214 at bats his sophomore year.

It remains to be seen where he’ll play in the field, as there are some questions about his defense at second base. He finished second on the team in errors with 12 but maintained a reasonably respectable .953 fielding percentage. I would bet the Angels give him a shot at second, but he could end up playing elsewhere if his bat translates quicker than his fielding.

The top of the draft was littered with college baseball players, with the top five picks all being college guys. Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana went No. 1 to the Cleveland Guardians, former Vols’ pitcher and Wake Forest SP Chase Burns got taken second to the Cincinnati Reds, Georgia’s Charlie Condon with the third pick to the Colorado Rockies, Demon Deacon first baseman Nick Kurtz to the Oakland A’s at four and Arkansas’ Hagen Smith rounding out the top five to the Chicago White Sox.

Moore joins Chase Dollander, Drew Gilbert and Garrett Crochet as recent first-round picks out of the Volunteer baseball program.

The Angels have the worst-ranked group of prospects according to MLB dot com’s rankings, and there’s only one second baseman in the Angels’ top-15 up-and-coming players, so it’s likely Moore will be fast-tracked to the MLB level.