Texas Rangers catcher Malcolm Moore has been named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week of May 11-17, 2026. Moore, who is repeating at high-A Hub City after his injury-shortened 2025 campaign, slashed .520/.571/1.160 with four homers.
Moore, the Rangers’ first round pick out of Stanford in 2024, is currently on an interesting trajectory. Drafted 30th overall as a bat-first catcher with questions about whether he would stick behind the plate, Moore slashed just .209/.298/.374 in 25
games at Hickory in 2024 after signing. He played just 62 games in 2025 between Hub City and (while rehabbing) the ACL due to a broken finger, and was not impressive either offensively (slashing .195/300/.276) or defensively. Sent to the Arizona Fall League to help make up for some of his lost playing time, Moore slashing .213/.275/.328 in 17 games there.
Moore didn’t seem to turn any heads in spring training, and he appeared to be one of those late first rounders who fizzles out early on, especially after starting 2 for 22 to begin 2026 in his return to high-A. Moore’s offense picked up after that, though, and he finished the month of April with a .231/.324/.400 slash line, and 7 walks against 15 Ks in 74 plate appearances in the month. Nothing spectacular, but a decent month, especially given the slow start.
Moore has been on fire in May, though. He has a 9 game hitting streak, has hits in 10 of 11 games he’s played in this month, and has at least two hits in each of his last seven games. For the month he’s slashing .444/.528/.822 in 53 plate appearances, with six walks and nine Ks.
All of which means we may need to be re-evaluating Moore’s prospect status.
Now, on the one hand, Moore put up those insane numbers last week in Asheville, an extremely hitter-friendly park. On the other hand, he went 6 for 14 in four games at Wilmington prior to the Asheville series.
Also on the one hand, Moore is a college player taken in the first round three years ago, and is still at high-A, a level he is repeating. Also on the other hand, he did miss substantial time in 2025 due to the broken finger, catchers due tend to take longer to develop than other positions.
Moore obviously isn’t going to continue putting up a 1351 OPS, but if he continues to hit well, one would expect to see him at Frisco sometime towards the end of June. His 2023 draft classmate, Dylan Dreiling, taken in the second round, is currently having a solid season with the Roughriders, slashing .299/.417/.486 while playing center field.
