Phillies Select Mickey Moniak with First Overall Pick in Draft

Image via @Phillies

Who’s the first pick in the draft and he was taken by Philly? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-N-I-A-K.

Er, yes. The Phillies took La Costa Canyon High School outfielder Mickey Moniak with the first pick in the draft. He was considered a mid-round pick just a few months ago, but his strength, speed and defense rocketed him to the top of draft boards. He hit .476 this season.

The biggest knock on Moniak is his lack of power, but he says he believes he can improve it. He is just 18 and is listed between 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-3.

Baseball America has written highly of Moniak, and some slate him as a future 30-30 player.

Moniak is the grandson of former Red Sox minor leaguer Bill Moniak.

By finishing last season with a 63-99 record, the Phillies earned the first overall pick in the draft. The last time the Phillies picked first, they took University of Miami slugger Pat Burrell, then 21. He hit .257 with 251 home runs in a Phillies uniform.

The question at the time was whether Burrell would end up moving to first base, as the Phillies had Scott Rolen firmly entrenched at Burrell’s position (third). Burrell did play 58 games at first for the Phillies in his rookie year, but otherwise played left field in his career.

The Phillies had been linked to several players with the pick. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo had them taking Mercer University outfielder Kyle Lewis. CBS Sports had the Phillies taking A.J. Puk. ESPN’s Keith Law said the Phillies would take Moniak, though he also linked them to “Puk and Lewis and to a lesser extent Corey Ray and Blake Rutherford.”

Baseball America also had the Phillies taking Moniak. Some said the team should take Barnegat High School pitching phenom Jason Groome, a local prospect.

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