With the 20th overall pick, the Blue Jays could select… Malcolm Moore
2 days ago
The Blue Jays’ organization catching depth is quite weak.
It’s almost time, as in just over two weeks, the 2024 MLB draft will take place. For the second straight season, the Blue Jays own the 20th-overall pick, but will also pick twice on the first day, as they own pick 59 as well. On top of that, they’ll pick 95th, 125th, 136th, and 158th.
Toronto will have a signing bonus pool of $8,897,000 for the first 10 rounds – 11 picks thanks to a compensation pick for Matt Chapman signing with San Francisco. Players selected in rounds 11 through 20 can sign up to $150,000 before counting against the signing bonus pool.
Let’s take a look at a catcher who could instantly become the best in the Blue Jays’ minor league system.
Malcolm Moore’s bio
Malcolm Moore stands at 6’2”, 216 lbs and attends Stanford University in California. The left-handed batting catcher ranks as the 26th-best draft prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Interestingly, I wrote about Moore all the way back in 2022 in an article you can read here. Obviously, things have changed.
It’s not uncommon for the Blue Jays to draft out of California. Last draft, three players were selected out of the state, Kelena Sauer, Kai Peterson, and Chase Brunson, with the latter electing to head to university.
However, it has been a hot minute since the team selected a catcher from the state. In 2018, they selected Kameron Guangorena out of high school, but he elected to attend college. Hagen Danner was selected the season prior in the second round, but he is no longer a catcher, as you likely know. The next round, they selected a college catcher, Riley Adams, who was traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Brad Hand.
As for picking a player from Stanford, it’s been a long time. Their last pick from the school was back in 2004, when they selected Brian Hall in the 10th-round. In total, they’ve made six picks from the school, Scott Dragicevich (2002), Travis Burley (1990), Ed Sprague (1988), Greg Lorenzetti (1984), and Rob Irwin (1978). Sprague was a part of their 1992 and 1993 World Series teams.
Malcolm Moore’s stats
The 20-year-old catcher’s first season at Stanford was better than his sophomore effort. In 2023, Moore slashed .311/.386/.564 with 15 homers in 298 plate appearances, along with a 7.1 BB% and a 16.8 K%.
As for his 2024 season, Moore slashed .255/.414/.553 with 16 home runs in 244 plate appearances. While his home run and walk rate increased (18 BB%), he hit 12-less doubles than the season before.
Malcolm Moore’s tools
Moore does a good job making hard contact and spraying the ball. The metrics are impressive, and MLB Pipeline describes his power as “easily plus raw power”. Being down in the count isn’t a problem for the 20-year-old either, as he does damage with two strikes.
On top of that, Moore has “an advanced approach at the plate”, and drew more walks than strikeouts in 2024, an improvement over the season before. This includes not swinging on junk pitches outside the zone and avoiding whiff on in-zone pitches.
Defence was a problem for Moore in 2022, and it doesn’t look to be any better for the catcher in 2024. There’s some good, he’s “not a bad receiver” and “moves decently enough”, but the arm is usually below average. He’s certainly a bat first prospect that could eventually move to first base, diminishing his value.
Malcolm Moore’s grades
As always, we’ll take a look at Moore’s grades according to MLB Pipeline. Moreover, we’ll look at the 2022 grades assigned by the publication. First, his 2024 grades.
| Tool | Grade |
| Hit | 50 |
| Power | 50 |
| Run | 40 |
| Arm | 45 |
| Field | 45 |
| Overall | 50 |
Moore may be the only 2024 draft prospect we’ll look at who I’ve covered in the past due to his July birthday. Here are his 2022 grades.
| Tool | Grade |
| Hit | 55 |
| Power | 55 |
| Run | 40 |
| Arm | 45 |
| Field | 45 |
| Overall | 50 |
Really, the only difference is the bat, as his hit and power grade went down a mark. All in all, he’s still a very exciting prospect.
Will the Blue Jays select Malcolm Moore
Usually, a team should draft the best player available and not for positional need. However, the Jays don’t have a top 30 catching prospect, and it doesn’t look like any catcher in the system is close to cracking it any time soon.
Moore provides an intriguing bat that has a ton of power, with a solid hit tool. The Blue Jays have shown time and time again that they’re good at developing catches’ defence (look no further than Alejandro Kirk), so maybe, just maybe, they could do the same to Moore.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
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