FORT WORTH — Too often, MLB is guilty of bringing a goat to the rodeo. On Sunday, they did it literally. Only, with capitalization: GOAT.
Perhaps seeking defense from the inevitable boos, Commissioner Rob Manfred approached the podium to kick off the 2024 draft accompanied by Adrián Beltré, who makes everything better. But the crowd at the Cowtown Coliseum was already on a roll. Took a few seconds for everybody to realize they were booing their own soon-to-be-enshrined Hall of Famer. They quieted down. For a while.
The boos for Manfred started again mid-round when he was soloing at the podium, then reached a crescendo when he was about to announce the Houston Astros pick at No. 28. Only issue: The wily Commissioner had seemingly out-thought the crowd again. Brought teenage product of Houston’s RBI Program to the stage with him. Seemed innocent enough. They both got booed.
Hey, what do you want? Most of the folks that showed up were wearing Rangers gear and weren’t used to having to wait all the way through the first round to get a pick. Call it the consequences of winning a World Series. It beats drafting in the first five picks every year. They had to sit through two hours of mascots Two-Stepping and trick ropers trickin’ as MLB leaned heavily into the Cowtown vibe. At least Manfred had the good sense not to wear a Stetson to the podium.
But by the time Manfred finally announced the Rangers were taking 20-year-old Stanford catcher Malcolm Moore at No. 30, the wait seemed worthwhile. How often do you get to grab a left-handed hitting catching prospect with power and plate discipline?
And, quite frankly, the Rangers could use some catching. It’s an organizational weakness. Anybody seen Sam Huff lately? Certainly not the Rangers, who have only given him three at-bats this year. Huff, now 26, is out of minor league options after this season. So it appears he’s quickly running out of time with the Rangers.
The Rangers also took Tennessee outfielder Dylan Dreiling with the 65th overall pick to conclude the second round and the first day of the draft. Dreiling, like Moore, is a left-handed hitter. And a college hitter. The Rangers seem to like those.
Now, about catching. According to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, the Rangers have only one catching prospect in their top 30s. They agree on where the catcher ranks, just not on who it is. Pipeline favors 19-year-old Jesús Lopez. Baseball America leans towards 25-year-old Liam Hicks.
Not that scouting meister Kip Fagg would ever draft strictly for organizational need. Assume as much and you are liable to get a long lecture on “best talent available.” Just serendipity the way it worked out. Fagg will also tell you the Rangers don’t lean exclusively towards college players, even though their last five first-rounders have all been college picks from traditional powers.
“Catching is a position of need in the organization,” GM Chris Young acknowledged. “But I think every organization would say the same thing. It’s a big need, right behind pitching for every organization. We feel like Malcolm is the best for this organization. He’s got an offensive profile that we really. He controls the strike zone. He’s got elite makeup. Everything aligned, but we were not committed solely to catcher. He was the best player we could access.”
See, what did we tell you?
Moore walked more times than he struck out in 2024. That pops out. So does the .967 OPS that includes 16 homers. Batting average? Who cares about batting average anymore? Batting average, like age, is just a number, right? So ignore the .255 mark. Moore, Young said, had bad luck at the plate. The Rangers know that well enough at the major league level this year.
Now, the question on Moore may be more like: Is he a catcher or a hitter in catcher’s gear? According to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report, he’s “not a bad receiver,” but his arm is often “fringy.” Warning words in a scouting report. Though it’s worth noting that the Rangers catching instructors are top-notch and who knows how long framing is even going to be of value. An Automated Ball Strike system could be integrated perhaps as early as next year.
“Given his mentality and work ethic, we think he will make even greater strides in our organization,” Young said of Moore. “We’re not accounting for ABS right now. Framing is not our top priority at the position. Leadership, work ethic and intangibles are more important. We love Malcolm’s ability to catch.”
Said Fagg of the makeup: “He’s the serving kind. He knows that this is a huge part of his place on the team, knowing his pitchers, having relationships with them and knowing what to call. He’s on the top scale of that for me.”
Moore arrived at Stanford with questions about his catching ability and heard he’d move to first base while in school. He was determined to only get better.
“I made it a personal goal to never say no to a bullpen,” Moore said. “The only way to get better was to do it.”
He took that approach to leadership, too, on a Stanford team that had been to three consecutive College World Series before turning over to a much younger roster. Stanford struggled on the field. Moore’s performance at the plate occasionally struggled, but he “learned so much about leadership.”
“I really think it helped me develop for this next level,” he said. “I think I will look back and be glad I went through it.”
Young said Moore was the player the Rangers had targeted at No. 30, though Sam Houston catcher Walker Janek went to Houston two picks earlier. MLB Pipeline had Janek rated as the No. 24 overall prospect; it had Moore at No. 26. They were the top two catchers on the Pipeline board.
Also of significance is signability. The Rangers have only $6,997,900 of pool money for their draft picks. It is the third smallest pool among clubs. Finding the most efficient ways to spread that money across picks is also a key.
On Sunday, the Rangers waited patiently to make their pick and got what they wanted.
For them, it was definitely not a goat rodeo.
Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant
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