Phinding His Stride

Mickey Moniak made a splash on Thursday, crushing a pair of home runs against the Yankees as the Phillies demolished their spring training neighbors 15 -- 0.

Five years after being taken as the first overall pick in baseball's amateur draft, the outfielder is beginning to look like a legitimate prospect and not the next Steve Chilcott or Shawn Abner.

I know, it's EARLY. And it's not as if he teed off on Gerrit Cole or Aroldis Chapman -- those homers came against borderline relievers Reggie McClain and Nestor Cortes -- and it's four weeks from Opening Day.

We're not even a week into the 2021 Grapefruit League schedule. Still, it's worth noting that the now 22-year old arrived in camp in great shape, more filled out, clearly bigger and stronger than the youngster who struggled while being promoted through the Phils' farm system.

He's also earned praise from his manager Joe Girardi, who said Moniak's "in the mix" for the club's wide-open center field job. And while he's more likely to start the season at Lehigh Valley's "alternate site," he's making the kind of positive impressions a young player needs to, especially after disappointing in his early pro experience.

(My image of Mickey Moniak came from an August 2019 game when he was playing for the Phils' Reading farm club.)
 

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