Philadelphia Phillies: Could Mickey Moniak steal a main roster spot?

The open competition that the Philadelphia Phillies are currently hosting for their Opening Day center field position has been one of the more intriguing storylines to follow this spring. While a majority of the attention has been focused on the likes of Scott Kingery, the now injured Adam Haseley, and a returning Odubel Herrera, a rather surpirisng name has popped up as someone who could sneak his way onto the main roster.

Former #1 overall pick Mickey Moniak.

Prematurely labeled as a “bust” just 1-2 years into his minor league career, Moniak has done everything in his power over the last couple of months to flip the narrative on the type of player that he can ultimately develop into. He fared decently during his MLB debut in 2020, and has done nothing but impress during Spring Training thus far.

The young outfielder is currently slashing .500/.500/1.375 across his first eight at-bats, having already recorded two home runs and a double. His performance against the Yankees on March 4th, where he hit back to back home runs off two different pitchers, was particularly impressive.

Philadelphia Phillies should consider naming Moniak to the main roster.

Heading into the offseason, my guess is that nobody within the Phillies organization thought of Moniak as someone who could crack the Opening Day roster. However, with Haseley now injured, and Moniak thriving at every turn, Joe Girardi appears to be a tad more open to the idea of utilizing the lefty in 2021:

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Despite his hot start, Moniak is still fighting a bit of an uphill battle when it comes to seeing the major league roster this season. Kingery and Haseley are both locks for the Opening Day 26, Herrera is having himself a very impressive spring (despite his well-documented off the field issues), and Matt Joyce is a proven veteran bench piece. Even Roman Quinn, who is a glorified pinch-runner at this point in his career, is someone who Girardi has routinely favored in the past.

With all of that said, Moniak is doing his part when it comes to turning some heads within the Philadelphia Phillies organization. His swing looks violent and powerful, and his ability to show discipline at the plate is something that he’s greatly improved upon over the last few seasons. If he can continue to produce at such an elite level over the next couple of weeks, it’d be really hard for the Phillies to justify not including him in their main roster plans this season.

After all, the upside that Moniak provides over the likes of Quinn, Joyce, and Herrera is hard to understate. Quinn isn’t an everyday option out in CF, Joyce is 36 years old, and Herrera will likely be cut loose after this season regardless of how he plays moving forward. Moniak on the other hand has the potential to be the team’s starting CF for the next 5+ seasons – should he ever live up to his first-round potential.

Ultimately speaking, I’d bet against Moniak cracking the team’s Opening Day bench, but it’s still something that Dombrowski and Girardi should look into. As much as the organization wants to “win now”, developing someone like Moniak would seriously improve their playoff odds in 2022 and beyond.