Moniak hopes to turn corner with big night

By his own admission, Mickey Moniak has struggled to this point in his pro career.
The No. 1 overall pick in 2016 -- who hit just .236/.284/.341 last season for Class A Lakewood -- came into Thursday's game for Class A Advanced Clearwater batting just .160 with 13 strikeouts in 50 at-bats.

Gameday box score
Moniak had fallen in MLB.com's rankings to fifth in the Phillies system and No. 88 overall. But in the Threshers' 10-3 loss to the Stone Crabs, there were signs of progress.
With three singles, the 19-year-old notched his first multi-hit game of the season. Although only one of the hits was a line drive, Moniak felt good about his performance.
"Yeah, definitely," he said. "Coming into the year, I felt good about how I did in Spring Training."
The Southern California native just wants to build off that from here. Of Moniak's 13 hits this season, only two have been for extra bases -- both doubles. He has slugged just .350 as a pro with just six homers.
"I think last year, I felt [the pressure] a little bit," he said. "I told myself no matter what happens, just go out there and play baseball. Don't listen to all the extra stuff, go out there and play baseball, and whatever happens, happens."
Moniak admits he needed to get stronger after last year and set out to accomplish that in the winter, working out in his native San Diego at the EXOS facility.
"So this is the first year, unlike my first [pro] offseason, where I worked out with somebody instead of alone," he said. "Having a nutritionist plan out daily meals, the main thing was gaining weight, good weight, muscle, yet staying agile and quick. I feel like this offseason was very productive."
The La Costa Canyon High School product didn't give much heed to falling in the rankings.
"Rankings are rankings," Moniak said. "The only opinion I care about is the Phillies. At the end of the day, I'm only looking to please them and win ballgames."
On Thursday, he lined a single to left field in the third inning, beat out a bunt in the fifth and dropped a single into right in the ninth. Moniak was particularly happy about the bunt.
"I definitely like to utilize bunting for a base hit," he said. "I was talking to [Threshers manager] Shawn Williams, and he said, 'If the opportunity is there, take it.' I take pride in my bunting and it's definitely something I'd like to keep in my game."
While Moniak turned his game around a bit, Phillies No. 4 prospect Adonis Medina continued to slide. After allowing five runs in 2 2/3 innings in a loss to Jupiter last week, Medina didn't make it out of the second Thursday. The righty was tagged for six earned runs on three hits and three walks and threw two wild pitches. His ERA ballooned to 10.24 through three starts this year.

For the Stone Crabs, Nathaniel Lowe stayed hot. He doubled twice, singled, drove in a run and scored another while David Olmedo-Barrera hit a two-run homer to back the pitching of Kenny Rosenberg (1-0). The right-hander gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings, striking out five and walking one.
But despite the loss, Moniak saw Thursday as a stepping stone.
"I'm working on every facet of my game," he said. "I went to [the instructional league last winter] and worked with hitting coach Andy Tracy to get into my legs, and I got a lot of good work done."
"One thing I can take away from last year, even with the struggles, was it's not how you start, it's how you finish."