Of course, it’s way too early to start talking about who might represent the Colorado Rockies in this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star game in Philadelphia. But don’t bet against the guy who the Phillies once selected with the first overall pick in the amateur draft, way back in 2016.
We’re one month into the 2026 MLB season, and the Rockies have already exceeded expectations after last season’s 119-loss debacle. After sweeping the New York Mets in the Big Apple over the past weekend, they sat at 13-16. Last season, when they won their 13th game, they were 13-55.
One reason for that is the play of outfielder Mickey Moniak, a forgotten veteran who didn’t come up through the Rockies system, hasn’t been overhyped as one of the team’s rising prospects, and who hasn’t been mentioned as being in anyone’s long-term plans. But here he is, leading the team with eight homers and hitting a robust .310 while playing multiple outfield spots and spending time as the designated hitter, as well.
With the revamped Colorado front office getting a good deal of well-deserved praise for the club’s improving fortunes, it needs to be pointed out that the Paul DePodesta/Josh Byrnes group didn’t bring Moniak to Colorado. That was done under the watch of former GM Bill Schmidt.
Schmidt’s tenure was marred more by inactivity than by the same kind of poor roster/money decisions that plagued his predecessor, Jeff Bridich. His Rockies, by and large, didn’t really do much of anything beyond very small-scale signings and promoting from their farm system, which mostly failed to deliver high-end prospects to 20th and Blake. While criticism of Schmidt’s tenure is well-deserved, this is a ‘credit where credit is due’ situation: Moniak was picked up as a free agent after being released by the Los Angeles Angels in March of last year, and has been a solid contributor to the Rockies ever since. This year, after another spring training injury slowed his start, he picked things up, including already having a pair of two-homer games this month. He’s played well enough to force prospects like Jordan Beck to share playing time.
After receiving a nifty $6 millionsigning bonus in Philly, Moniak finally made the big leagues during the COVID-shortened season in 2020. But after landing on the injured list after being hit on the hand by a pitch in the final spring training game in 2022, he became part of the trade with the Angels that sent “Thor” (aka pitcher Noah Syndergaard) to Philadelphia at the trade deadline in 2022. But his time in California was largely unproductive as well, especially for a guy who was the top overall draft choice. Moniak didn’t do much for the Angels, hitting just .219 with 14 homers during his time there before he was released.
Schmidt and his scouts saw a player who still had top-of-the-draft physical tools, and signed him for just $1.25 million last March. After a 2025 season that saw Moniak hit a decent .270 – and second place on the team with 24 homers – the new regime smartly held on to the 27-year-old left handed hitter and re-signed him for a very affordable $4 million for this season.
Acquiring a player like Moniak on the cheap is the kind of move that “Moneyball” clubs are known for making. The kind of move that the Los Angeles Dodgers have made over the years when they snatched up key contributors like Max Muncy, Chris Taylor and Kiki Hernandez off the scrap heap.
Schmidt most certainly wasn’t a “Moneyball” guy, but in this case, he hit a home run.
So on the 10th Anniversary of being selected by the Phillies with that first-overall draft pick, Moniak could possibly be returning to the “City of Brotherly Love” to make his very first All-Star game appearance after having finally fulfilled the potential that scouts saw in him a decade ago.
