The Philadelphia Phillies have selected high school outfielder Mickey Moniak with the first overall pick of the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft.
Moniak was a name very few people outside of draft circles had heard of until fairly recently, considering this years draft class is not considered to be a very top-heavy one.
The San Diego area native was said to be the best high school hitter in this year’s draft class.
TBOH staff writer Alexis Girardo gave a quick scouting report on what Moniak will be bringing to the Phillies organization. Here is an excerpt from her report.
"Moniak stands 6’2′, 190 pounds and is just 18 years of age. FueledBySports compares the right-handed batter to the Marlins’ outfielder Christian Yelich. He is described as an excellent defender, superb contact hitter, and a speedster on the base paths.The only knocks on Moniak are his arm strength and lack of power, but being so young there is still time for his power to develop."
In 15 games, the speedy center fielder posted a .482/.565/964 slash line with five homers, five triples, and 25 RBI. He also struck out just twice compared to nine walks.
Take a look at video of the Phillies’ newest outfielder below.
The Phils have now taken a high school hitter in the first round in back-to-back drafts after selecting Cornelius Randolph last year.
In the previous five years under the old Ruben Amaro Jr. regime, the emphasis was always on pitching. Jesse Biddle, Shane Watson, and Aaron Nola were some of the names taken while Amaro was still with the club.
Where Moniak will start his professional career is not yet known. He is likely to start in the Gulf Coast League after signing, or take a big jump into either Lakewood or Clearwater at the Single-A level.
With Moniak projected to be a center fielder, the history of Odubel Herrera and Roman Quinn at the position might eventually come in to question. At some point, at least one of them is going to have to move off the position.
While baseball prospects typically take longer to reach the big leagues than other sports, it is still an interesting pick based on the depth in the system.