During Spring Training, Mickey Moniak was outperforming every Phillies’ center field candidate by a longshot. But the farther the Phillies got into Spring Training, the fewer at-bats Moniak got per game. It quickly became apparent that Moniak never got a fair look and eventually got sent down.
The Current CF Setup Just Isn’t Working
It doesn’t take long to see how poorly Roman Quinn and Adam Haseley are doing in center field. Quinn has one hit on the year with a minuscule 0.063/0.211/0.063 slash line. In his career, Quinn is only a .229 hitter with a .654 OPS. Sure, he’s fast, but that is literally all he is.
Meanwhile, Adam Haseley is only performing marginally better so far, though the Phillies are too scared to let him face left-handed batters.
Regardless, it is clear that the Phillies do not or should not trust both of their current options in centerfield
Time to Call up Mickey Moniak
And so here we are. Nine games into the season with a strong one through eight lineup that fades quickly at the eight-hole. It sure is a shame the Phillies don’t have a number one overall draft pick in their system who is a center fielder, right? Oh wait, they do!
Moniak may have missed some developmental time last year in AAA Lehigh Valley due to the COVID-19 shutdown, but he held his own all thing’s considered when the Phillies threw him into the big league fray last September. While the Phillies would like to make up for lost time and give Moniak more time to develop in Lehigh, it may be better overall for the team if they bring up the 22-year old now and let him learn on the job. Doing so would not only give the Phillies a fresh face in the abysmally bleak position but allow Moniak the chance to learn on the job while batting in the eight-hole in a stacked lineup.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
