The Philadelphia Phillies recalled outfielder Mickey Moniak from the alternate site on Wednesday. In a corresponding move, the Phillies have placed outfielder Adam Haseley on the restricted list for personal reasons.
After being selected number one overall in the 2016 draft just one month after his 18th birthday, Moniak debuted on mlb.com prospect watch at number 24. This placed him just behind Ian Happ (21), Aaron Judge (22), and Eloy Jimenez (23). He was ahead of 2020 AL Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis (28) and 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger (32). To say Moniak has not lived up to the hype is an understatement.
To start the 2017 season, Baseball America and mlb.com ranked Moniak among the top 20 prospects in baseball. After a season full of struggles, Baseball America left him out of their top 100 and mlb.com ranked him 88th. Moniak continued to struggle as he moved up the minor league ladder and eventually fell out of the Phillies’ top ten prospects.
A strong showing at Double-A Reading in 2019 reignited some hype around Moniak and it was enough that he earned his MLB debut during the shortened 2020 season. Moniak’s high profile and improving skills made him an intriguing option to make the big league roster. Despite a strong spring training showing that included five extra-base hits, Moniak was sent to the alternate site to get consistent at-bats when the minor league season starts in May.
Roman Quinn and Adam Haseley, however, have not contributed for the Phillies through 12 games. Quinn and Haseley have hit for a combined .122 (5-41) with one extra-base hit. The Phillies clearly saw enough to pick Moniak first overall in 2016. Now at the age of 22 and playing his best baseball in years, Mickey Moniak is ready to prove himself at the big league level. And at this point, he can’t be worse than Roman Quinn.
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