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 AAA Farm Club at Lehigh Valley May Be MiLB's Best in 2017

The Philadelphia Phillies have been undergoing a public rebuilding program for the last two to three years.

Management has made some astute trades. They have also done a solid job making selections in the annual Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

It all adds up to the Phillies accumulating an enviable array of minor league prospects. Some of those players have already begun their big league careers.

This is most especially noticeable on the mound, where starting pitchers Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez and Aaron Nola are each now in their second full big league season.

And even more are just a phone call away. The Phillies top farm club, the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs, are roughly a 60 miles north drive up the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Allentown, PA.

Based on MLB.com rankings, a full seven of the Phillies top dozen prospects, including three of the top four, are starting this season with the Pigs.

Phillies 2017: Rotation Depth a Strength, But There's No Ace

The Philadelphia Phillies have officially begun the six-week spring training process down in Clearwater, Florida. 

One of the likely areas of strength for this year’s version of the Fightin’ Phils would appear to be the starting pitching rotation.

A pair of veteran arms on short-term deals, a bulldog surprise, and a handful of talented youngsters give the club enviable depth on the mound. 

The numbers and talent potential are the most impressive to don red pinstripes in a number of years. However, the fact remains that the club still does not have a true ‘ace’ caliber starting pitcher.

There are some fans who say that a pitcher who takes the top spot in a given rotation is the ace of a staff. I believe that they are defining  the term improperly.

When Phillies fans want to think of a true ace, they don’t have to search very far back in their memory banks. Some of us can slip easily back to memories of Steve Carlton winning four Cy Young Awards. But the Phillies have had a number of true ace-caliber starting pitchers of very recent vintage.

As all but the very youngest fans will remember, the 2011 Phillies team set a franchise record by registering 102 regular season victories. Those wins were largely made possible by the club running four aces out of their rotation. We all remember “The Four Aces”: Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels.

None of the current Phillies rotation contenders has that kind of consistently excellent talent. Which is not to say that they aren’t good arms. Again, the rotation is likely to be a strength of this team.

Phillies Fall 2016 Top Ten Prospects: Near Misses

Over the past week, I have been releasing a countdown of the Philadelphia Phillies Top Ten Prospects as of Fall 2016.

That Phillies top prospect list shows that this vastly improved organization has a tremendous mix of talented youngsters coming at a variety of positions.

The current top ten includes three pitchers, a catcher, a second baseman, a shortstop, and four outfielders. At least three of these prospects appear ready to impact the team in the 2017 season.

But there were others who didn’t make the cut, but who were close. Players who are legitimate big league prospects. 

Certainly a few of them would have made the top ten list in the estimations of other talent evaluators. Let’s examine a few of the prospects who just missed my list.

Baseball America Preseason 2016 Top 30 Phillies Prospects

The Philadelphia Phillies farm system is universally considered to be greatly improved, which reflected in new rankings released by a respected source.

Baseball America’s annual Prospect Handbook is being delivered all across the country. I received my copy yesterday, and reading online of others receiving theirs today. 

It is considered the bible of prospect evaluation by many, ranking each Major League Baseball organization, as well as ranking and commenting on the top 30 prospects in those organizations.

It would not be a surprise for most fans of the Phillies to learn that our favorite ball club has not fared well in recent annual organizational rankings by Baseball America. 

Since ranking 11th prior to a 2011 season that saw the team finish with its best record in franchise history, the Phils have tumbled, finishing 27th, 23rd, 22nd, and 22nd again over the last four seasons.