FORT WORTH, Texas -- Malcolm Moore never says no to catching a bullpen.

Not seen as the best defensive catcher in scouting circles, Moore is committed to getting better each and every day. That hard work paid off. With the No. 30 overall pick in Sunday's MLB Draft, the Rangers selected the Stanford University backstop.

They also selected Tennessee outfielder Dylan Dreiling with their second-round pick (No. 65 overall).

¡°Coming to Stanford, I knew that that was one thing, that people thought I couldn't catch and thought that I was going to be a first baseman in college and then at the next level,¡± Moore said via Zoom on Sunday night. ¡°[Bullpens are] the best way to learn catching, just live reps from my pitchers.

¡°I just learned like that. The most important thing for me was just creating a relationship with pitchers. Once you get into the game, you realize that if you're a pitcher on the mound [and you trust each other], it's a completely different relationship. It makes pitching for them so much easier and catching for me easier as well.¡±

Moore¡¯s bat is what has carried him to become the No. 26 Draft prospect per MLB Pipeline. After being considered a potential Day 1 pick out of high school in 2022, Moore went undrafted thanks to his strong commitment to Stanford. Now, following his sophomore year for the Cardinal, Moore is one of the top left-handed college hitters in the country, combining the ability to drive the ball to all fields with plus raw power.

The Rangers have now selected college players in the Draft in six straight years: Josh Jung in 2019, Justin Foscue in ¡®20, Jack Leiter in ¡®21, Kumar Rocker in ¡®22 and Wyatt Langford in ¡®23.

The Rangers don¡¯t draft for need, said director of amateur scouting Kip Fagg, but it¡¯s clear that catching depth in the organization was thin. There¡¯s just one catcher in MLB Pipeline¡¯s Top 30 Prospects list (Jesus Lopez, No. 29), with even fewer options at the upper levels of the Minors.

¡°It is a position of need in the organization, but I think every organization would say the same in regards to their catching depth in their prospects,¡± said general manager Chris Young. ¡°It's probably second to pitching, you can't have enough catching. But nonetheless, I think separate from that, we also felt like Malcolm was the best player for the Texas Rangers, independent of the position. We really felt like the qualities he has in terms of the person, the makeup, the character, the intangibles, and then certainly the talents, it really aligned in terms of what we were looking for in a player.¡±

Moore struggled early on this season, hitting just .207 with nine extra-base hits through March and putting his first-round potential in doubt, but a strong recovery put him right back where he left off in 2023.

He finished the season hitting .255 with eight doubles, 16 home runs and 36 RBIs while receiving a Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention. He reached base in all but five of his games played on the season, including each of the final 14 contests.

Although his overall numbers didn¡¯t improve much from his freshman to sophomore years, Moore showed signs of elite plate discipline this season, walking 44 times while striking out just 35 times with excellent chase and swing-and-miss rates in the zone.

¡°He's improved a ton in his last two years at Stanford,¡± Fagg said. ¡°He got his body really in good shape this last year, and it was moving a lot better. The kid dedicated himself a little bit more, not that he's always not dedicated, but he's a little bit better this last year and the improvement was immense. We're excited to have a left-handed hitter with that power and hit combo.¡±

Scouts aren¡¯t incredibly high on his ability behind the plate, but his bat makes him a strong prospect no matter where he lands on the field. Moore is considered to be roughly average with his receiving, athleticism and arm behind the plate, but experts aren¡¯t convinced that he¡¯ll stick back there at the next level. With Moore¡¯s 6-foot-2, 216-pound build, he could easily make the move to first base.

That being said, Young said the Rangers are intent on keeping Moore behind the plate.

Even better, catching coach Bobby Wilson has been known to transform guys behind the plate. Any time with Wilson could eventually keep Moore at the position.

¡°No doubt, we believe in our catching group internally, both on the [player development] side and at the Major League level,¡± Young said. ¡°We've had a lot of success of improving defense with our catching with our catchers. Given Malcolm's mentality, aptitude and work ethic, we think that he'll make a lot of strides. We already like his catching to begin with and we think he'll make even greater strides in our organization with our catching coaches.¡±

Rangers pick up outfielder in second round

Dreiling slashed .342/.459/.715 for the Volunteers this year, helping Tennessee to the first national championship in program history as the Most Outstanding Player in the College World Series.

Fagg said that was something that obviously stood out to their scouting group.

¡°I think that's part of it,¡± he said. ¡°I think that once you get to know the kid a little bit, it's like ice water in the veins, right? The bigger the moment, this kid's got no heartbeat kind of thing. He always performed in the big spots and especially in that league [the SEC], which is a premier league in college baseball. This guy's performed his two years there, and we¡¯re excited to get a bat like this in our Minor Leagues, for sure.¡±