PhoulBallz Interview: Mickey Moniak answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

Mickey Moniak, image- Jay Floyd

Despite what overly critical fans online say, Phillies minor league outfielder Mickey Moniak has taken considerable strides and is a genuine prospect on the rise.

This year, he opened the regular season as a 20-year-old in the Double-A Eastern League. As a member of the Reading Fightins, Moniak notched a .252 average in 119 games while leading the league in triples with 13, ranking 2nd in extra base hits with 52 and coming in 4th in RBI with 67.

In recent weeks, the lefty hitting Moniak tallied a .186 average with four doubles, two triples and three stolen bases in 17 games for Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League.

A while back I talked with Mickey to discuss some of his interests off the field including food, music, Star Wars and more.  To hear this exclusive interview, head on over the Patreon.com/PhoulBallz to support my work and get access to this audio and so much more material that you won't find anywhere else.  

The latest from the off-season: Fall/winter ball stats and more

Over the off-season, sometimes this site can go stretches of several days without a post or an update, but if you're looking for constant news, stats and insight on what is taking place with Phillies developmental talents throughout the autumn and winter months, follow me on Twitter or simply bookmark my Twitter profile page (https://twitter.com/PhoulBallz) to get daily alerts and details.

In the Dominican Winter League thus far, catcher Deivy Grullon and shortstop Malquin Canelo have each posted a .143 batting average in four games for their respective teams.

In the Arizona Fall League, where Phils prospects are playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions, corner infielder Alec Bohm is sporting a .361 batting average with a pair of homers, nine RBI and five walks in 19 contests.

Righty pitcher Spencer Howard has notched a 1-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and an 11.4 K/9 mark in six starts.

In eight appearances left-hander JoJo Romero has posted a 1-0 record, a 0.84 ERA and a .158 batting average against with the Scorpions.

Through four starts righty Connor Seabold is 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA while striking out 22 and walking three over 17 innings pitched.

Outfielder Mickey Moniak sports a .186 batting average with four doubles, two triples, five RBI as well as three steals in 17 games.

Infielder Jose Gomez is batting .091 with an RBI in six games since joining Scottsdale as a replacement for Nick Maton who left the team weeks ago for an undisclosed reason.

In 10 games outfielder Josh Stephen is batting .212 with a triples and two RBI.

Lefty reliever Zach Warren has no decisions, a save, a 3.86 ERA and a .063 batting average against in five outings.

News out of Philadelphia on Thursday saw Joe Girardi being named as the Phillies' new big league managers.  For an exclusive look at what some players think of the decision, support my work over on Patreon.com/PhoulBallz.  $5 membership there comes with plenty of content that is not available anyplace else.

PhoulBallz Interview: Matt Hockenberry talking Morales, Santos, more

Continuing with my multi-part exclusive interview with 2019 Lakewood pitching coach Matt Hockenberry, here's another entry.

In this post, Hockenberry talks about the success of his young staff and their improvements throughout the season this year.  He also discusses exciting 19-year-old right-hander Francisco Morales, his ceiling and what the future could hold for the talented Venezuelan.  He also discusses hurler Victor Santos and plenty more.

Morales, who stands six-foot-four and is listed at 85 pounds, notched a 3.82 ERA, a .226 batting average against, a 1.32 WHIP as well as a 12.0 K/9 mark in 27 appearances for the BlueClaws.

Read ahead for this portion of my interview with Matt Hockenberry that can't be found anywhere else!

Here's a brief sample of "Hock" chatting about his team keeping momentum going throughout the 2019 campaign:

You’ve got guys like Manny Silva, Francisco  Morales, you’ve got (Victor) Santos that have continued to take the ball every  fifth day and they’re just going out and putting up ridiculous numbers.   Morales is striking out close to 13 guys per nine and then on top of  that, he’s really developed his change up to where other teams are  asking when they get to first base, they’re asking our first baseman,  “Hey, when did he start throwing a change up?”

To read the rest of this multi-part interview, head on over to Patreon.com/PhoulBallz and support my work.  For just $5 a month, you will get plenty of exclusive content that you won't be able to find anywhere else and that content continues all through the off-season.  

PhoulBallz Interview: Matt Hockenberry talks 2019 BlueClaws

Matt Hockenberry, image- Jay Floyd

Over on my Patreon page, I am serving up a multi-part interview with 2019 Class A Lakewood pitching coach Matt Hockenberry.

Part one features Big Hock talking about 22-year-old Dominican righty Rafi Gonell and his progress.  Part two includes quotes from Hockenberry discussing righty reliever Albertus Barber's story of reaching the pro ranks and excelling as an undrafted free agent and his progress.  Also in part two, the subject of pitches thrown in two-strike counts by the BlueClaws and improving their walk rate throughout the season is addressed.

Part three will land later this week and will include insight on promising hurler Francisco Morales.

To access exclusive content such as these quotes from Hockenberry, please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz and support my work.


Sample of the material included in the Hockenberry interview excerpts...

I think it’s a great story.  The fact  that (Barber) played some junior college baseball and I think he went a couple  other places throughout his collegiate career, but being able to go to  Driveline—and from what I heard he sacrificed a lot to  be able to go to Driveline.  I think he said he was sleeping on  somebody’s couch.  And being able to go build what he calls his arsenal  of pitches and being able to understand the analytical side of the game,  such as the movement profiles, whether his ball’s  got ride, sink, run, spin efficiencies on his curve ball, his slider.   Being able to take his pitches into the game and dominate.  Since he’s  been here, he’s dominated. 

Off-season League Check In: 10/5/19

A couple of weeks into action, here's a rundown of how Phillies players are performing in the Arizona Fall League.

Each Phillies prospect plays for the Scottsdale Scorpions. The team has a 6-6 record through 12 games this year.  

Alec Bohm, image- Jay Floyd

Third baseman Alec Bohm in eight games sports a .387 batting average with two doubles and five RBI.  The righty hitting Bohm was the Phillies' first round draft selection in 2018.

In four games, Josh Stephen has tallied a .455 average with a triple and one RBI.  The 22-year-old lefty batter was an 11th round draft selection in 2016 by the Phils.

Center fielder Mickey Moniak has notched a .161 batting average with a double, a triple, four RBI and a stolen base in seven contests with Scottsdale.  The 21-year-old lefty hitter was the first overall selection in the 2016 draft.

In three games, infielder Nick Maton is batting .333 with a double a home run and a pair of RBI.  The lefty batting 22-year-old was selected by the Phillies in the 7th round of the 2017 draft.

Spencer Howard has allowed three hits over six scoreless innings in two starts for the Scorpions.  Additionally, he has struck out six and walked three in those frames.  The 23-year-old righty was the Phils' 2nd round draft choice in 2017.

Connor Seabold has a 1-0 record and a 0.75 ERA in three starts for Scottsdale.  He's struck out 18 batters and walked two in 12 innings.  The 23-year-old right-hander was the Phils' third round pick in 2017.

JoJo Romero has a 2.08 ERA, striking out one and waking three in 4 1/3 innings over three appearances.  Romero, a lefty, was the Phils' 4th round draft pick in 2016. 

Stats listed here are current prior to game action on Friday, October 4th.