It's Mickey Money Time

Finally, the only first overall pick the Phillies have drafted since World Series champion Pat Burrrell is being called up. Back in 2016, the Phillies used the first pick to take high school outfielder Mickey Moniak and signed him to an under-slot deal. Four years, the strangest season of all time, and multiple big league injuries later, he will get a chance to show why the Phils made the right pick. Leading up to the draft there were a lot of questions as to who the 1:1 would be. My personal favorites were local high school lefty Jay Groome and Florida Gators lefty AJ Puk. Puk was the favorite to go with the top pick but an up and down season left his top pick status in jeopardy. Currently, Puk is in the majors for the Oakland A’s but has been on the IL for the last few weeks. He has spent the majority of his career there after undergoing a Tommy John surgery already and now battling a shoulder injury. Jay Groome has also dealt with injuries and as such has not made his way to the major leagues yet after being taken 12th overall by the Red Sox.

When Moniak was drafted, he was considered to be a very toolsy player. He has plus speed and was thought of as a MLB caliber defender in center from day one. His bat hasn’t taken the steps forward that the Phillies hoped even though he seemingly adds muscle every year. Ultimately, it is entirely possible that critics are being too tough on Moniak as, while he’s been a pro for 4 years he is still only 22 years old. He got his first taste of AA action last year and slashed .252/.303/.439 over 119 games, according to baseball reference. His most disturbing statistic was 111 strikeouts over that span compared to only 33 walks.

It is difficult to envision a defined role for Moniak other than pinch running through the rest of this season. Girardi seems to be sold on needing Roman Quinn’s speed in the lineup as much as possible. When Quinn is out, Adam Haseley is still likely to get the playing time as a left handed bat against right handed pitchers. Moniak is also a left handed hitter so the role he could step into seems filled. However, with the DH spot available it is possible that we see Moniak play in the field to allow Harper or McCutchen to stay in the lineup but still get off their feet a little by DH’ing. Otherwise, he could be a candidate to come in late in games as a defensive replacement. Ultimately, the best news about this move is Moniak getting to be around the big leaguers for the playoff push. Since there hasn’t been a minor league season, Moniak has definitely lost valuable developmental time. He’s simply too young and has too much draft capital invested in him to give up on. Hopefully, he’s able to pick up something of value working with the big league club for however long he stays up here.

Personally, I hope we get to see a little bit of Moniak to see where his development is at; however, being at the end of a playoff race, the most important thing is putting together a lineup to compete night in and night out. Maybe Mickey surprises everyone, but, at the very least, any time one of the young guys can be around major league hitters it’s a huge positive. It’s your chance Mickey Money, make it count.