Mar 15, 2024; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; General view of a Texas Rangers hat, glove, and glasses prior to a spring training game against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Rangers’ First-Round Pick Losing Steam After Hot Start in Fall League

Originally posted on Texas Rangers on SI
By Jeremy Trottier | Last updated Oct 29, 2025 8:00 PM ET

The Texas Rangers have quite a few prospects in the Arizona Fall League currently getting reps before the 2026 season starts up. With nine prospects currently playing on and off, it has been interesting to see which of them have been able to handle the level of competition and who have struggled to find their momentum as of yet.

An intriguing case somewhere between those two levels is 2024 first-round pick Malcolm Moore, who started off quite well in Arizona but has started to lose his momentum on the back end of his stint. A broken hand early in the 2025 season set him back quite a bit after starting off well, and he had difficulty recovering after missing a substantial amount of time.

Now, he has been trying to work his way back from that in the Arizona Fall League, but he just has not been able to maintain a level of consistency both at the plate and behind it. Unfortunately, it may just be a case of getting some rest and coming back in 2026 ready for the opportunity, but he could get back on track with a few good games.

What Has Moore's Overall Production Looked Like in the Arizona Fall League?

So far over the course of the AFL season, he has played 10 games, slashing .222/.293/.278 with five runs, five RBI, 15 strikeouts, one walk and no home runs. The lowered walk rate has been killing his statistics so far, as has the high strikeout count, so working on plate discipline this offseason could be crucial to developing him into the high-level prospect he can be.

Malcolm Moore with the first of the day pic.twitter.com/onqg96aD4a
— Hub City Spartanburgers (@Spartanburgers_) July 4, 2025

As for his defense, it is a bit hit or miss. He does have 88 putouts and two assists with no errors to his name so far, which is impressive; however, he has allowed 17 stolen bases on 19 attempts, catching only 11% of runners so far. This has been a consistent problem so far throughout his minor league career, as in the farm system, he has caught 19 while allowing 97 stolen bases, good for a 16% catch rate.

There is certainly a lot to like about him as a prospect, especially going back to his collegiate seasons, where he truly was impressive. While the hand injury has slowed him down a bit, he still has the tools to become an outstanding player; he just needs the time to work on his craft and become a more consistent player.

This article first appeared on Texas Rangers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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