Jul 3, 2026 2:00 PM

After injuries slowed his first pro season, the Stanford product is powering through a breakout year, batting over .290 and slugging his way to a promotion to Double-A Frisco

In 2024, the Texas Rangers selected Stanford catcher Malcolm Moore with the 30th overall pick in the MLB Draft, and they immediately sent him to High-A to get to work. The problem is, two years later he was still at that level. 

There were certainly struggles involved, with Moore batting just .209 with a .298 OBP in his first taste of the pros in 25 games in 2024, followed by him batting .198 with a .293 OBP at the same level in 2025. 

The larger factor is that he missed two months last season, being out of action from April 15 to June 16 after suffering a broken finger on his right hand on a foul tip. 

Hand injuries are tough to recover from and hit the ground running immediately, and given that there is also an adjustment period to just being in pro ball, his slow start is certainly understandable. 

This season he was in High-A yet again, but this time he brought his bat. 

In 48 games with the Hub City Spartanburgers of the South Atlantic League, he hit .300 with a .387 OBP — a big jump in production — adding 10 home runs and 37 RBI. 

On June 16, he was promoted to Double-A Frisco for the first time, and in 13 games he's still slugging. Moore has batted .260 with a .333 OBP and another three home runs in his brief time with the Rough Riders.

That momentum was interrupted by something far bigger than baseball.

Earlier this week, he was in the on-deck circle when his teammate Dylan Dreiling hit a ball in the gap that Midland centerfielder Ryan Lasko and right fielder Devin Taylor went sprinting towards. They both dove to make the catch, and collided.

Lasko needed stabilization surgery resulting from a C6–C7 vertebra fracture, and A's manager Mark Kotsay revealed on Wednesday that the A's outfield prospect doesn't have feeling in his lower half. This is obviously a scary situation for all involved, and being in the on-deck circle for a play like that has to hit a little differently. 

In the two games since, Moore has gone 1-for-9 with a solo home run and seven strikeouts. He'd struck out just six times in his first 41 at-bats in Double-A. 

While the previous two games are an understandable wobble, his overall performance — a .292 average, .376 OBP, and 13 home runs at this point in the season — is impressive. Despite being selected in 2024, he's had enough setbacks that the 2026 campaign is serving as his first real full season in pro ball.

He is one of the younger catchers in the Texas League who have accrued at least 50 plate appearances this season, joining a group of seven catchers 22-or-younger in the league. That's with his struggles in 2024 and his injury setback last year. 

In other words, he's still right on schedule. 

Join the conversation at Stanford Roundtable — your home for Cardinal coverage and community! You can also follow Jason @ByJasonB on Twitter or @JasonBurke on BlueSky so you never miss an article! 

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