MLB draft: Stanford star Moore joins long list of Sacramento-area stars picked in Round 1
Malcolm Moore is a baseball lifer, and at age 20, he’s just warming up.
He was a slugger with uncommon cool during his Land Park Little League days in Sacramento as a 10-year old. He picked up steam throughout four magical varsity seasons at storied McClatchy High School when he made it all look so simple. After two stellar seasons as a catcher and power hitter at Stanford, the 6-foot-2, 218-pound Moore on Sunday night had a dream come true.
The 2022 Sacramento Bee Player of the Year was selected 30th overall by the Texas Rangers, making him the 23rd Sacramento-area player to be selected in the first round since MLB’s amateur draft began in 1965.
The selection was another notch of validation that Sacramento remains what it has long been called in athletics — a baseball town. Moore is the fourth locally raised first-rounder in this sport since 2022 (see list below).
Moore very well may have been a first-round pick out of McClatchy, but his commitment to Stanford was so firm that he went undrafted. Moore has long spoken about how teammates are the best thing about sports, and he was eager to be one for a program as prestigious as Stanford.
After earning Freshman Player of the Year honors at Stanford in 2023, Moore this past season batted .255 with eight doubles, 16 home runs, 36 RBI and 44 walks. He reached base in all but five games for Stanford in 2024. Moore is expected to sign with the Rangers, who won the World Series last season. He could receive a signing bonus of more than $2.8 million, per the norm in recent drafts for the 30th pick.
Moore wasn’t talking about dollars during a zoom call with media Sunday night. One of the top left-handed hitters in college baseball instead spoke about the honor of playing at Stanford, becoming a leader, overcoming a slow start to the season, “learning from failure” at the plate and relentlessly providing “positive energy” every day at the ballpark.
This is Moore: A happy guy wielding a big bat.
“It’s an extreme honor to be drafted by such a great organization,” Moore said excitedly. “Super happy.”
‘He was it’
There were subtle doubts by baseball scouts if Moore could handle the grind behind the plate as a catcher at Stanford. He soaked in that critique and flourished. He plans to play catcher in pro ball but can also play first base. Per his motto, Moore said he will find a way to impact a team and a game.
McClatchy coach Mike de Necochea has known Moore since the kid was 10 when he buckled teams with his power in Little League. Said the coach a year ago in a Bee story: “From a young age, he was it. He was the top player, had power, and it was evident that he could just swing it. He had that lift and separation even then. We called him ‘The Natural.’ We saw it as a freshman at McClatchy when he had two home runs in the same game in a tournament in San Diego, and we’re all thinking, ‘This guy is the real deal.’”
Moore is easy to root for, someone for all of Sacramento to rally behind, de Necochea said.
“Everyone who knows Malcolm or competed against him feels a part of it,” he said. “We’re that old public school in Sacramento that still cranks out awesome people. Malcolm’s going to be the best one to come out of McClatchy, the most powerful hitter, and we like to showcase and celebrate them.
“Malcolm’s going to be that guy wherever he goes. He’s been that guy and he’s always been that guy.”
McClatchy has produced several players who reached the big leagues, including, in order: Larry Bowa, Rowland Office, Dion James, Nick Johnson and Vance Worley. Moore is the third McClatchy graduate chosen in the first round, joining shortstop Joel Bishop in 1972 and James in 1980.
James, an outfielder, had 266 RBI and 362 runs in 11 MLB seasons. Bowa played 15 seasons at shortstop in the bigs, his first season coming in 1970. He led the National League in fielding percentage six times and was a five-time All-Star while with the Philadelphia Phillies. Bowa coached in the big leagues and served as manager for the San Diego Padres and Phillies.
A centerfielder, Office debuted with the Atlanta Braves in 1972. He logged 10 MLB seasons, driving in 242 runs. Johnson, a nephew of Bowa, made his MLB debut as a first baseman in 2001 with the New York Yankees. He played for five teams over 12 seasons, slugging 95 home ruins and driving in 398 runs.
Worley, a pitcher, made his MLB debut with the Phillies in 2010 and played for four other teams through 2017, going 35-46 with 497 strikeouts.
23 for the show
Here are the 23 players from the Sacramento area who have been selected in the first round of the June/July Major League Baseball draft, with their draft position (all before 2024 signed):
2024: Malcolm Moore, C, McClatchy/Stanford, Rangers, 30th
2023: Chase Davis, OF, Franklin/Arizona, Cardinals, 21st
2022: Daniel Susac, C, Jesuit/Arizona, A’s, 9th
2022: Cooper Hjerpe, P, Woodland/Oregon State, Cardinals, 22nd
2018: Nick Madrigal, INF, Elk Grove/Oregon State, White Sox, 4th
2016: Matt Manning, P, Sheldon, Tigers, 9th
2016: Dylan Carlson, OF, Elk Grove, Cardinals, 33rd
2014: Derek Hill, OF, Elk Grove, Tigers, 23rd
2009: Tim Wheeler, OF, El Camino/Sacramento State, Rockies, 32nd
2007: Casey Weathers, P, Laguna Creek/Vanderbilt, Rockies, 8th
1998: Tony Torcato, OF, Woodland, Giants, 19th
1995: Geoff Jenkins, OF, Cordova/USC, Brewers, 9th
1993: Derrek Lee, INF, El Camino, Padres, 14th
1983: Ricky Jordan, INF, Grant, Phillies, 22nd
1980: Dion James, OF, McClatchy, Brewers, 25th
1977: Drungo Hazewood, OF, Sacramento, Orioles, 19th
1974: Butch Edge, P, El Camino, Brewers, 6th
1972: Mike Ondina, OF, Cordova, White Sox, 12th
1972: Joel Bishop McClatchy, INF, Red Sox, 16th
1972: Jerry Manuel, INF, Cordova, Tigers, 20th
1971: Taylor Duncan, INF, Grant, Braves, 10th
1967: Andy Finlay, OF, Burbank, Braves, 12th
1966: Leron Lee, OF, Grant, Cardinals, 7th
▪ Ken Hottman, an outfielder from Elk Grove High and Sacramento City College, was twice picked in the first round of the January draft, a lottery that ended in 1986. He was drafted four times in all, signing as a second-round pick with the Chicago White Sox in 1968 and playing in 16 MLB games in 1971. He hit 117 home runs in the minor leagues.
This story was originally published July 16, 2024 at 5:00 AM.