Major League Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies prospect Mickey Moniak meeting expectations after almost 100 games

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:59 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Tim Boyle/FanSided via Call to the Pen

Philadelphia Phillies prospect Mickey Moniak will always have the notoriety that comes with being the first overall pick in the MLB draft. At just 19-years-old, the scrappy outfielder is approaching his 100th professional baseball game. Thus far, the results have been very good for the talented young athlete.

Moniak has completely met expectations. He finished last year hitting .284/.340/.409 with one home run and ten stolen bases over 46 games. He has very similar numbers this season in about as many games with no drastic difference other than fewer stolen bases and RBI.

Expecting Moniak to do anything more than this is unfair. He never hit for much power in high school and is unlikely to add an uppercut swing to his arsenal now that he's facing professional pitchers. Moniak is what he is and that's a very good player capable of starting every day. He should compile singles and steal bases with some regularity from now until he reaches the Philadelphia Phillies roster.

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It's a very good thing for Moniak's numbers to look similar to what he did last year. It shows this is probably the kind of output that he will routinely post. Unless he is promoted too soon or drastically improves, Moniak is probably going to always hit about .285, have only a handful of home runs, and possibly steal 30 bases at the absolute most. This is the type of player the Phillies knew they were drafting and exactly what he has delivered.

Obviously, Moniak has years to improve and surpass expectations. MLB.com projects he sees big league action for the first time in 2019. This first whiff of MLB pitching will probably take place later in the year as it's a more optimistic expectation for someone less than a year into his professional playing career.

Many of the criticisms made about Moniak are unjustified. He gained weight to his small frame in the offseason which could eventually result in more power. It hasn't made a difference at all this year, but he is also facing the best pitching he has seen and is more than two years younger than the average minor leaguer in the South Atlantic League. Let's not forget, Moniak was drafted out of high school. He never had the chance to face the best pitchers around the country at the collegiate level.

The only fair critique of Moniak is how he has not surpassed expectations. His statistics are mostly average. He is not lighting the South Atlantic League on fire or leading in very many categories on the Lakewood BlueClaws. Only because he was last year's first pick is he even someone worth mentioning.

After another 100 games, Moniak will better reveal what he can become. Right now he's exactly what he should be.

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