Phillies prospect Mickey Moniak thriving in Clearwater

Things are finally coming together for the Phillies number one pick

Drafted number one overall in 2016 by the Philadelphia Phillies, Mickey Moniak has some enormous weight on his 20-year-old shoulders. Given comparisons to Christian Yelich coming out of high school, Moniak was thrust from the classroom to the top of a major market’s prospect list.

Forty-six games in rookie ball bode well for Moniak in 2016 after receiving a $6.1 million check and buying a PlayStation as his first major purchase. Still a teenager he hit .284 with 16 extra-base hits.

Things went downwards for Moniak last year in Lakewood after jumping Short-Season ball for Full-A. His power started to emerge with five home runs and six triples, but his batting average slumped to an unimpressive .236 with a .284 on-base percentage.

After a slow start in High-A Clearwater this year that included wisdom tooth surgery, Moniak has been one of the best hitters on the BlueClaws.

In his last 10 games, Moniak is hitting .324 with four multi-hit games and only six strikeouts. Since June 1 he’s had two on-base streaks that have lasted at least seven games.

All of this has come after last year’s first round pick Adam Haseley was promoted to Double-A Reading, passing his fellow first round pick. 

In all fairness, Haseley is two years older and played elite level college baseball at Virginia. Haseley was playing with his hair on fire and has continued to do so in Reading with a .338 batting average in 23 games.

Some started to wonder whether Moniak was a reach at number one in a draft that didn’t have a consensus top player. He fell off MLB Pipeline’s top-100 prospect list and the production was clearly not where the organization wanted it to be.

Hopefully, Moniak has turned a corner and will be either a centerpiece for the Phillies or a major trade in the near future.