Mickey Moniak, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft who had been in line to start in center field for the Philadelphia Phillies, has suffered a fracture in his right hand, according to Mike Gill of 97.3 ESPN. Moniak was hit in the hand by a pitch on Wednesday. Initial x-rays came back clean, yet he's now expected to miss at least a month of action.
Moniak, 23 years old, had impressed this spring after making an adjustment to his setup alongside new Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long. In 35 plate appearances, he had batted .371/.371/.914 with five home runs and four other extra-base hits. Moniak, for his career, has hit .128/.241/.191 (20 OPS+) with one home run and 22 strikeouts in 55 big-league plate appearances.
The Phillies had been counting on Moniak starting most days in center field after losing veteran Odúbel Herrera to the injured list with a strained oblique. In the absence of Moniak and Herrera, the Phillies could well turn to Matt Vierling. The Phillies have few other good options, suggesting they might look to the waiver wire or the trade block for a stopgap solution, even if it's only in a reserve capacity.
Whoever plays center for the Phillies will have their hands full on defense. Philadelphia added both Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos to its lineup over the winter, with one or the other likely to join Bryce Harper in the corner outfield positions. That's good news for the Phillies' offense, but they're likely to have one of the worst defensive outfields in the league on any given night.
All the same, the Phillies are hoping to earn their first playoff berth since 2011 by taking advantage of the expanded postseason and their potential offensive potency.
