Mickey Moniak Aims To Get Back On The Upswing

GREENSBORO, N.C.—Contrary to popular belief, this season has been one of ups and downs rather than constant struggles for Mickey Moniak.

Last year’s No. 1 overall pick hit .283/.335/.424 in his first 49 games. He slumped through a .227/.280/.303 stretch in his next 49.

Now as he enters the final month of his first full professional season, Moniak is showing signs of getting back on the upswing.

The Phillies’ top prospect went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs to lead low Class A Lakewood to an 8-5 victory over Greensboro (Marlins) on Wednesday. Moniak pounded doubles into both gaps and lifted a pair of sacrifice flies while showing the same smooth, lefthanded swing that made him such a highly sought-after amateur.

“He turned 19 during the season. He’s a kid that could still be a senior in high school. He’s learning,” Lakewood manager Marty Malloy said. “He’s had a few downs, but he’s had more ups than downs. A lot of it is playing everyday for the first time, limited days off, the travel, the wear and tear, but he’s held his own. He really has.”

Overall Moniak is hitting .258 with four home runs, 39 RBIs and a .680 OPS on the year. While it is not an overly inspiring stat line, there have been kernels of promise and progress.

Most notable has been Moniak’s adjustment to how he’s been pitched. Early in the year he saw a lot of fastballs in traditional hitters counts. After pitchers quickly learned that wasn’t going to be a successful way to attack him—see his solid first two months of the season—they quickly changed course.

“I’d say the way I get pitched now has been the biggest adjustment,” Moniak said. “There’s more offspeed getting thrown in hitters counts; 3-1 you’re not necessarily going to see a fastball; you’re not necessarily going to see a fastball 0-0 and might get started backwards. That’s something that’s been an adjustment. It’s all a learning experience and I’m running with it.”

Moniak’s education in pitch sequencing took time, but is starting to bear positive results.

He laid off early-count breaking balls to get into 2-0 counts in each of his first two at-bats, then pulverized the fastballs over the plate he was waiting for. In his first at-bat he drove a 93-mph fastball on the outer half into the left-center field gap, where it one-hopped the wall. In his second at-bat he drove a low-and-inside offering off the wall in right-center. And on his two sacrifice flies he got two pitches to elevate and didn’t miss them, driving in crucial runs in the late innings as his team held on to a slim lead.

“He got thrown into the fire as an 18-year-old hitting third in the South Atlantic League,” Malloy said. “But he’s made adjustments at the plate. He’s getting pitched differently at times than in the beginning where people didn’t know him. Now he’s learning to see pitches better and get in hitters counts, and when he gets in hitters counts not to miss the pitch, like you saw today.”

More than anything on the field, the biggest adjustment for Moniak has been mental. As an amateur star who was a member of multiple USA National Teams and was Baseball America’s 2016 High School Player of the Year, he was so gifted he rarely experienced failure.

Going through extended dry spells for the first time in his baseball life hasn’t been fun, but it’s something Moniak has learned to take in stride.

“I haven’t really struggled as much as I have this season as I ever have in my career, but it’s baseball,” Moniak said. “Seventy percent of the time you’re going to fail and you’re a Hall of Famer. You’ve just got to take the positives out of things. You may go 0-for-4 but have three quality at-bats and look to build off things. It’s been tough, but it’s something that as well as getting better on the field, dealing with failure is something you gotta get better at and deal with mentally.”

In that regard, Moniak earns raves from his coaching staff.

“He’s been through the days where he might’ve been 0-for-4. He’s been through the days where he’s been 4-for-4. He’s learned along the way he’s got to be the same guy everyday, and he’s been that guy,” Malloy said. “He’s the same kid and I think that’s one of the things that makes him special.”

There are areas Moniak admitted he needs to improve. Both he and his coaches highlighted his need to use his legs more on throws from the outfield, and learning to position himself properly in center field based on the pitcher, hitter and game situation was another point of emphasis. Strength training is also on the docket for the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Moniak, with a full regimen already in place for his time at home in the offseason and when he reports to the Phillies complex in Clearwater, Fla., for instructional league in the fall.

But for now, Moniak’s focus is finishing the rest of this year strong and putting a positive final touch on his first full professional season.

“It’s been a learning experience,” Moniak said. “Definitely going to try and finish this last month strong and go into the offseason with stuff to build off of. Me being me, I do want to be the guy who bats .300. It didn’t happen, but I feel like I’ve made some adjustments that have needed to be made, and I’m going to continue to work on perfecting that. That’s what the minor leagues are for. It’s all about development.”