Mickey Moniak

McKenzie Matthew "Mickey" Moniak (born May 13, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Moniak was selected by the Phillies with the first overall pick of the 2016 MLB draft.

Mickey Moniak
Moniak playing for the Lakewood BlueClaws
Philadelphia Phillies
Outfielder
Born: (1998-05-13) May 13, 1998
Encinitas, California
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 16, 2020, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.214
Home runs0
Runs batted in0
Teams

High school

Moniak attended La Costa Canyon High School in San Diego, California, and played center field for the baseball team.[1] As a sophomore, he batted .461 with two home runs, and 27 runs batted in (RBI).[2] As a junior, in 2015, Moniak hit .426 with a 1.062 on-base plus slugging (OPS).[3] That August, he played in the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park.[4][5]

In 2016, as a senior, Moniak batted .476 with a .961 slugging percentage and 40 runs, 12 triples (a San Diego Section record), seven home runs, and 46 RBI, in 29 games.[6][7][8] He was named Baseball America High School Player of the Year, Gatorade California Baseball Player of the Year, and San Diego Section Player of the Year.[9][7][8]

Moniak committed to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to play college baseball.[10]

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Philadelphia Phillies selected Moniak with the first overall pick of the 2016 MLB draft.[8] On June 20, 2016, he signed with the Phillies after agreeing to a $6.1 million signing bonus.[11]

Moniak made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast Phillies in 2016.[12] He spent all of his first professional season there, batting .284/.340/.409 with 27 runs (10th in the Gulf Coast League), 11 doubles (tied for 9th), four triples (tied for 8th), one home run, 28 RBI (9th), and 10 stolen bases (9th), in 176 at bats.[13] Baseball America ranked Moniak the Number 17 prospect in baseball, and MLB.com ranked him Number 19.[14]

Moniak spent 2017 with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, with whom he batted .236/.284/.341 with six triples (tied for 5th in the South Atlantic League), five home runs, 44 RBI, 11 stolen bases, and seven sacrifice flies (tied for 2nd) in 466 at bats in 123 games.[15] Baseball America named him the best defensive player of his draft class, the second-best pure hitter (behind Nick Senzel), the second-best high school player (behind Bo Bichette), and the high school player closest to making his major league debut.[16][17] Moniak spent the 2018 season with the Class A-Advanced Clearwater Threshers. He hit .270/.304/.383 with 28 doubles (second in the Florida State League), five home runs, 55 RBI, six stolen bases, and seven sacrifice flies (tied for 5th) in 433 at bats in 114 games.[13]

In 2019, Moniak received an invitation to Phillies Major League spring training camp.[18] He played the 2019 season with the Reading Fightin Phils of the Class AA Eastern League, batting .252/.303/.439 with 63 runs (9th in the league), 28 doubles (6th), 13 triples (leading the league), 11 home runs, 67 RBI (tied for 4th), 111 strikeouts (10th), and 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts in 465 at bats.[19][20] Moniak was selected to play in the Eastern League All-Star Game midway through the season.[21] He was chosen to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Scottsdale Scorpions following the season.[22]

Major leagues

On September 16, 2020, Moniak was added to the Phillies’ 40-man roster, and was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[23] That night, he made his MLB debut against the New York Mets as a ninth-inning pinch runner for Alec Bohm, at Citizens Bank Park.[24] On September 18, 2020, Moniak roped a line drive into right field, a single, for his first big league hit, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays.[25]

Personal life

Mickey Moniak’s grandfather, Bill Moniak, played six years in the Boston Red Sox organization.[26][27][8]

References
  1. Belinsky, Hudson (January 14, 2016). "Confidence, Composure Define Moniak". baseballamerica.com. Baseball America. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  2. Maffei, John (June 26, 2014). "LCC's Mickey Moniak state's top soph". sandiegouniontribune.com. The San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  3. "Gatorade National POY Watch: UCLA baseball commit Mickey Moniak living up to legendary first name". usatodayhss.com. USA Today. April 21, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  4. Thiele, Brie (August 17, 2015). "Two local prep athletes play in Perfect Game All-American Classic". foxsports.com. Fox Sports. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  5. Paris, Jay (August 14, 2015). "LCC's Moniak is making his mark off the diamond, too". thecoastnews.com. The Coast News. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  6. Kenney, Kirk (June 9, 2016). "Phillies take La Costa's Moniak No. 1 in draft". sandiegouniontribune.com. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  7. "Phillies select Mickey Moniak with No. 1 pick of MLB draft". usatoday.com. USA Today. June 9, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  8. Maffei, John (June 16, 2016). "La Costa Canyon's Moniak is No. 1 MLB draft pick". encinitasadvocate.com. Encinitas Advocate. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  9. Norris, Josh (March 25, 2018). "Mickey Moniak, Adam Haseley Continuing To Adjust in 2018". baseballamerica.com. Baseball America. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  10. Petzold, Evan (February 28, 2015). "Interview: Mickey Moniak, A UCLA Commit". vavel.com. Vavel. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  11. Zolecki, Todd (June 20, 2016). "#1 pick Mickey Moniak signs with Phillies". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  12. Parker, John (June 29, 2016). "Top Draft pick Moniak singles in pro debut". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  13. "Mickey Moniak Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  14. Feltman, Asher (July 26, 2017). "2016 top pick Mickey Moniak doing just fine". minorleagueball.com. SB Nation. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  15. "South Atlantic (A) Leaderboards » 2017 » Batters » Standard Statistics". fangraphs.com. FanGraphs. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  16. Stockburger, George (October 18, 2016). "Phillies: Mickey Moniak Receives High-Praise From Baseball America". thatballsouttahere.com. FanSided. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  17. Lawrence, Ryan (October 17, 2016). "How Moniak, the Phillies graded out in Baseball America's Draft report card". phillyvoice.com. PhillyVoice. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  18. Macy, Evan (January 23, 2019). "Phillies first rounders Mickey Moniak, Adam Haseley inching ever closer to making big leagues". phillyvoice.com. PhillyVoice. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  19. "2019 Eastern League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  20. Romero, Mike (April 3, 2018). "Mickey Moniak hopes to continue rise with Fightin Phils". readingeagle.com. Reading Eagle. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  21. "Mickey Moniak among four Reading Fightin Phils players named to All-Star team". readingeagle.com. Reading Eagle. June 25, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  22. Norris, Josh (August 28, 2019). "2019 Arizona Fall League Rosters Announced". baseballamerica.com. Baseball America. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  23. Byrne, Connor (September 16, 2020). "Phillies Place Jake Arrieta On 10-Day IL". mlbtraderumors.com. MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  24. "New York Mets 5, Philadelphia Phillies 4 Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  25. Seidman, Corey (September 18, 2020). "Mickey Moniak ropes first big-league hit vs. Blue Jays". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  26. Persinger, Mike (June 24, 2015). "Throwback Moniak: San Diego's Mickey Moniak a hit as Brave tops United 2–0". usabaseball.com. USA Baseball. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  27. "Bill Moniak - BR Bullpen". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
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