Scottsdale, Ariz. – Mickey Moniak’s career has been defined by ups and down.
He was drafted first overall by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2016 MLB Draft and made his MLB debut on September 16, 2020, playing eight games in the COVID-shortened season. After bouncing up and down in 2021, Moniak broke his hand on April 7, 2022 and then bounced up and down until he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels at the deadline.
With the Angels, he continued to struggle in 2023 largely due to injuries. However, he played 124 games in 2024 and slashed .219/.266/.380 with 14 homers, but was eventually released on March 25, 2025.
The Colorado Rockies took full advantage of it, and signed him two days later.
Moniak broke camp with the Rockies, and ended up having a career year in 2025, slashing .270/.306/.518 with a career-high 24 homers.
But Moniak learned some lessons during the 2025 season, even if the Rockies were the worst team in baseball.
“I think, in general, [I learned that] success isn’t linear,” he said.
“Last year, with the season we had, obviously nobody was excited about it. Nobody was happy. However, I think that there was a lot of experience that was gained last year for a lot of young guys to then put us in a good situation this year to compete. And we talk about moving past ‘happy to be here’ and it’s time to win.”
Personally, Moniak made some adjustments to “build off what (he) did last year.”
“Obviously, I had the best year of my career,” he said. “But there’s a new coaching staff, a new front office – it’s a big turnaround here. So I’m just getting comfortable with them. We’re talking about what needs to be a focus going into this season in order to build off last year.
“And I think a big one is just trying to stay in the strike zone as best I can,” he continued. “I’m naturally an aggressive hitter, and I think that’s one of my biggest strengths but also it’s a double-edged sword sometimes. So I’m just trying to really hone in on that.”
Moniak has been impressed with the new coaching staff, but made sure to shout out manager Warren Schaeffer, who served as the interim manager last year.
“First and foremost, bringing ‘Schaeff’ back was huge for us,” he said. “I think just what he brings to a clubhouse day in and day out, and what he brings to this organization… I think he’s the right guy for the job and the right guy to lead us.”
Moniak specifically pointed to Schaeffer’s “comfort” with young players as what makes him the right guy for this job.
“Knowing them and being comfortable with them, and vice versa – young guys being comfortable with him – I think is a great start,” he said.
“And then obviously bringing in a lot of veteran guys to help bring experience to the clubhouse,” he continued. “I think experience is gained in one of two ways: It’s either you do it, or you have guys who’ve done it, and you can learn from them. So I think that was huge for us.”
And Schaeffer returned the favor, and not just being “a great left-handed bat that plays a good outfield.”
“[He brings] a good leadership quality that is very, very good,” Schaeffer said. “He’s a huge presence in that clubhouse, along with Kyle Freeland and [Antonio Senzatela]. He’s right up there with that.
“And you can’t really put a value on that,” he continued. “That’s an enormous value, and he’s a really good baseball player.”
Moniak hasn’t seen any spring action yet, but he’s using a more relaxed spring training to get ready for Opening Day.
“The number one [goal] is just making sure we’re going into the season healthy,” he said.
“This might be my first spring training where I’ve felt like I haven’t had to go out there and hit .300 to make a team. So just being able to use spring training to kind of work on some things and try some stuff, but ultimately, get ready to where we’re hitting the ground running on March 27.”
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