Mickey Moniak beginning to look like a worthy top draft pick

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Moniak was the top overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft

During their recent half-decade plummet to the bottom of the National League standings, the Philadelphia Phillies found themselves picking at a high position in the annual MLB Amateur Draft on a regular basis.

The Phillies had such a horrendous season in 2015 that their 63-99 record proved to be the worst in all of Major League Baseball. That set the club up with the #1 overall pick of the 2016 MLB Draft.

This was going to be far from a slam-dunk selection. Sure, the draft has yielded some true impact players with that first overall pick. Since the turn of the century, that top pick has produced stars in Joe Mauer, David Price, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole, and  Carlos Correa.

However, there have been as many misses as hits. Players selected #1 overall since the year 2000 also include Bryan Bullington (2002), Delmon Young (2003), Matt Bush (2004), Mark Appel (2013), and Brady Aiken (2014). Some were injury casualties. Some simply never developed as hoped.

Others made an impact, but it would be hard to say that they justified a first overall draft selection: Luke Hochevar (2006) and Tim Beckham (2008) fall into this category.

Even Justin Upton, taken first overall in 2005, has to be considered an overall disappointment when considering he was the top draft pick. Dansby Swanson, the top selection in the 2015 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, is just emerging this year as an impact player after being traded to the Atlanta Braves.

In June of 2016, Matt Klentak was overseeing his first draft as the general manager of the Phillies. Johnny Almaraz was the club’s head of amateur scouting at the time. When MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stepped to the podium to announce the selection, he called the name of Mickey Moniak, an outfielder from La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, California.

Phillies sign top draft pick Alec Bohm

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Bohm becomes the Phillies third baseman of the future

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Phillies announced the signing of 2018 first round draft pick Alec Bohm to a $5.85 million contract. The 21-year old third baseman out of Omaha, Nebraska and Wichita State now heads down to Clearwater, Florida to begin his minor league development.

Bohm (pronounced "Bome") is an advanced college hitter whom the Phils selected with the third overall pick in last week's 2018 MLB Draft.

If you are thinking already about when he might get to Citizens Bank Park to make his big league debut in red pinstripes, it is wholly reasonable to think that could happen early in the 2020 season, if not sooner.

It is anticipated by scouts that Bohm will hit. He has a great eye at the plate, good patience, and big time power. The question has never been with his right-handed bat. What has concerned some with the 6'5", 225-pounder is where he will end up defensively.

Phillies director of amateur scouting Johnny Almanzar, addressed this question specifically in the aftermath of his selection. Per Matt Gelb at The Athletic, Almanzar stated the following:

“We loved the bat. We loved the offensive capabilities, so we would have taken him regardless [of] whether he felt he could stay there. But we don’t believe that. We believe he can stay there. He’s a very athletic player. He’s a good third baseman and, with some instruction, I believe that he’s got the chance to be an average to an above-average third baseman at the major-league level. Very, very athletic for his size at 6-foot-5.”

Bohm hit well at Roncalli Catholic High School in Omaha, and won the Home Run Derby at the Connie Mack World Series in 2015. But he went undrafted out of high school and moved on to Wichita State.

During his collegiate career, Bohm blasted 40 doubles and 33 home runs, 16 of those homers in this past Junior season. He became an all-star in the Cape Cod League, and was named a first-team All-American by Baseball America.

Bob Brookover at Philly.com pointed out just how important it will be to the Phillies for Bohm to be able to stick at the hot corner: 

"...mostly third base has been a huge hole for the Phillies over the last 15 years. The Phillies have finished 21^st or lower in OPS at third base 12 times during that stretch, including 28^th last year. This year, the Phillies’ third basemen ranked 25^th in OPS at .698 going into Tuesday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies."

Bohm was in attendance at the draft, and it was clear in his post-selection on-air interview that he isn't particularly comfortable in front of the cameras just yet. His answers to local reporters have been just as succinct.

“It’s been a wihirlwind for me,” said Bohm per Tom McGurk at The Courier-Post. “I’m excited to get started. I just want to get out there and get some at-bats, get back into playing, it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve played.”

That's fine. Some of that hesitation will melt away the more he faces reporters questions and matures as a person and a ball player. More importantly to Phillies fans is that Bohm speaks loudly with his bat, and that he advances to play in South Philly as quickly as possible.