Phillies Top Ten Trades, Signings, and Roster Moves of 2016
By John Town
No. 3: Drafting Mickey Moniak No. 1 Overall
The Phillies reached the pinnacle of losing in 2015, losing the most games out of any team in the MLB that year. With the worst record, they were able to secure the first pick in the 2016 draft, giving them the pick of the litter from that year’s draft class.
Mock drafts cycled between pitchers Jason Groome, Riley Pint, and A.J. Puk for the Phillies, but chatter shifted towards high school outfielder Mickey Moniak, an 18-year old from Southern California who hit .482/.565/.964 with five home runs, five triples, and 25 RBI in his senior year. Pat Gillick was at a game where Moniak hit for the cycle, and it was a lock from there as the team used their top pick on Moniak in June.
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Moniak signed for a $6.1 million bonus, nearly three million dollars below the slot value for that pick. That allowed the Phillies to spread that money to other players like second-round pick Kevin Gowdy and third-rounder Cole Stobbe.
Upon joining the system, Moniak jumped to the top of prospect lists. Baseball America and MLB.com both ranked him as the No. 2 prospect in the system. In the likely scenario that J.P. Crawford graduates to the majors in 2017, Moniak should become the top prospect in the system with ease, and you could reasonably make the case he is now.
Overall, the Phillies drafted a potential five-tool center fielder who already has every tool but his power above-average or better.