ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers have signed first-round pick Malcolm Moore and 15 other players they selected in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft during the All-Star festivities they hosted last week.
Moore, a catcher out of Stanford who was the 30th overall pick, took pregame batting practice with the Rangers after they announced the signings Wednesday. The bonus slot value for that pick was $2,971,300.
Texas signed its top eight picks, and all but one of its top 17. The Rangers also signed four undrafted free agents.
Moore is only the fourth catcher the Rangers have taken with a first-round pick, and the first since 2010. Only one of the previous three made it to the majors, that being Bill Haselman, the 23rd overall pick in 1987.
A left-handed hitter, Moore batted .288 with 31 home runs and 99 RBIs in 118 games over two seasons with Stanford. He led the Cardinal as a sophomore this year with 16 homers in 54 games, and had more walks (44) than strikeouts (35).
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
