The Los Angeles Angels are a team with few expectations, and that’s not such a bad thing.
The Angels don’t have the roster to compete for a playoff spot or even a top-two spot in the American League West. The upcoming season doesn’t mean much for the Los Angeles area’s forgotten team but provides a proving ground for the future.
The team’s future rests with second baseman Christian Moore, the organization’s highest-ranked prospect. Moore is ranked as the 67th-best prospect in the MLB’s Prospect Rankings and the fourth-best prospect at his position.
“Christian Moore has been a guy I have been around and he has been asking me a lot of questions and I can tell he is a true pro who acts professional and goes about his business the right way,” Angels middle infielder Tim Anderson said.
The Angels were high on Moore after his standout career at Tennessee that included breaking the program’s single-season home run record and winning the 2024 Men’s College World Series. The Angels drafted Moore with the eighth overall pick of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft and all eyes have been on him since.
“It was a dream come true and I was so excited that my whole family and loved ones were there by my side,” Moore said. “It was a surreal moment and being there at the draft and getting to go up there and meet the commissioner, it happened all so fast and I wish I got to soak it all in a little more.”
Moore tore up the minor leagues with a .347 batting average with 35 hits on just 101 at-bats. He also showcased his ability to get on base consistently with a .400 on base percentage. An impressive first year of professional baseball secured Moore a spot in the team’s 2025 Spring Training roster.
Now 20 games into Spring Training, he has been performing well for a 22-year-old facing MLB-level competition. Moore is hitting .244 with 10 hits and four RBIs in spring ball, impressive numbers for such a young player.
“I’m a winner and I’m a competitor,” Moore said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next couple of years, but I promise you, I’ll get a ring for sure. It’s in my blood.”
Moore is the Angels’ best hope for the near future given right-handed pitcher Caden Dana, the team’s other Top 100 prospect, appears to need a few more years to develop. Dana has appeared in three games this spring and recorded an atrocious 15.88 ERA in just 5.2 innings pitched.
Moore could be the Angels’ answer in the middle infield to pair with 24-year-old Zach Neto at shortstop. The future’s bright for the young Angels star, and his team could surely use his star power.
“I see him making quick adjustments and learning everyday,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “If he keeps listening, learning, and applying, then there is no ceiling for Christian.”
Success is rare for the Angels. The last time the team had a .500 or better winning percentage was in 2015. The last time the team made the playoffs was 2014 when it was swept by the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series.
Since then, the Angels have posted nine straight losing seasons and only placed second in the AL West once. Some fans may find it puzzling how the Angels are so bad given Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani both won two MVP awards in those nine years.
Those same fans might think the American League MVP’s team must have made the playoffs. Somehow, that wasn’t the case any of the four years an Angel won the league’s most important award as the team finished fourth in the AL West each of those four years.
The Angels have endured years of fielding weak rosters with one standout player being the only sign of life in the lineup or on the mound. It doesn’t help that the team has invested 245 million dollars in Anthony Rendon, who seemingly never takes the field due to injury, and over 21 million dollars per year for Yusei Kikuchi, a pitcher with a 4.57 career ERA.
The Angels’ embarrassing play looked even more appalling last season as Ohtani moved 30 miles north to play for the Dodgers. The team suffered another blow as Ohtani won his first, and probably not last, World Series title in another team’s jersey.
All this suffering brought the Angels to the 2025 MLB season. The year will surely see the team’s streak of no playoff appearances extend to a decade and a third-place finish at best in the AL West.
Even before they’ve played a real game, the Angels never stood a chance in the AL West. The same could’ve been said at the end of the 2024 season and the same can be said now as a new season is on the horizon. Yet, that reality allows the Angels to turn their attention to the future with Moore.
