Moniak in CF

[Second Base]

At any rate, acquiring Moniak for Syndergaard has to go down as one of the better trades in Perry's tenure so far. 

[DMVol]

4 minutes ago, Second Base said:

At any rate, acquiring Moniak for Syndergaard has to go down as one of the better trades in Perry's tenure so far. 

Iglesias as a salary dump from the Reds was a good deal....Moniak may or may not be able to sustain his production but, for two months of Syndergaard, it's already a good deal for us....

[Angels 1961]

59 minutes ago, DMVol said:

Iglesias as a salary dump from the Reds was a good deal....Moniak may or may not be able to sustain his production but, for two months of Syndergaard, it's already a good deal for us....

That Syndergarrd signed with Dodgers  as they turn everything into gold.

[Angels 1961]

1 hour ago, Deek said:

Didn't he get his 2nd hit against a lefty last night...?  He's dealing...

He has never had many opportunities at MLB level against lefties. 

[Angels 1961]

1 hour ago, Deek said:

Didn't he get his 2nd hit against a lefty last night...?  He's dealing...

He has never had many opportunities at MLB level against lefties. 

[Angels 1961]

3 hours ago, Stradling said:

I love what he’s doing but this success isn’t repeatable. He has however improved his strike out to walk ratio. It’s improved to 10 to 1.  

Rengifo has improved his walk to K rate this year. His over production has gone down.

[Angels 1961]

4 hours ago, Stradling said:

I love what he’s doing but this success isn’t repeatable. He has however improved his strike out to walk ratio. It’s improved to 10 to 1.  

Against lefties this year 3 to 1

[rbis]

Moniak is 25!. He has hit over .300 this season since he's been up here. Of his 30-some RBIS, many of them have tied games or put us ahead. Without him, we would be down and out of the race already. He has 11 homers, despite limited playing time. Does he still have to make adjustments? Of course. All players do. (a big hit off Valdez and another clutch hit last night--both from the left side) He's also an excellent defensive player. He should start in center almost every game. When Trout returns, we will have more returns on this thing. But, My God! Why would you want to put any sort of a clamp on this guy, especially considering the alternatives right now?

[ukyah]

with ward returning to form as well, the outfield is starting to look decent again.

[Second Base]

Just to give you an idea about how perception has shifted regarding Moniak... Before this year, he was synonymous with bust. Now, he's looking like a legit starting outfielder that can do a bit of everything. Perception has shifted far enough that Max Clark, one of the most celebrated prep outfielders in recent memory and 20th ranked prospect according to BA got comps to Moniak from Harold Reynolds, which he meant as a compliment. 

[Angels 1961]

32 minutes ago, Second Base said:

Just to give you an idea about how perception has shifted regarding Moniak... Before this year, he was synonymous with bust. Now, he's looking like a legit starting outfielder that can do a bit of everything. Perception has shifted far enough that Max Clark, one of the most celebrated prep outfielders in recent memory and 20th ranked prospect according to BA got comps to Moniak from Harold Reynolds, which he meant as a compliment. 

Last year he was going to be starting OF for the Phillies. He got hit on hand like the last spring game and was out over 3 months. Traded to halos hit on hand again twice. New start this year crushed the ball in spring but halo OF set with Ward, Trout and Renfroe. Seldom used 4th OF Phillips made the team. After slow start at SLC he starting crushing ball again. Ward was in a slump when Moniak was called up. Moniak has taken advantage of his opportunity and with Trout out will be the CF for now. Moniak has 4 more years of team control. I'm not saying he can continue on this pace, but he has been a very pleasant surprise this year. Going forward who knows if Ohtani will be traded but I believe halos have some very nice young players to build around. I include Moniak among them along with Adell. 

[Chuck]

 

[OhtaniSan]

Moniak’s baseball savant page isn’t completely filled out (I think not enough ABs yet), but what’s on there is very encouraging. 

He has surprisingly elite speed and above average exit velo and defensive range. I took a look at his x numbers too in comparison with his real numbers, and even they aren’t discouraging.

xba: .277

xslg: .533

Current avg: .331

Current slg: .631

 

So maybe Moniak is playing above his expected/predictive data, but he is certainly not looking like a one-year wonder and looking more like a solid OF. Even if after more ABs, the stats start to reflect the x numbers, i’m still beyond hyped to have him for the next 4 years. If we take his x numbers as a baseline, he is going to be good for awhile 

 

[OhtaniSan]

Not to mention, in one of the recent games the commentators (I forget if it was the espn clowns or our guy Wayne) broke down his swing changes that led to his success. To me, that provides some physical evidence to support his production.

I believe they highlighted how his stance is more open, allowing better sight of the ball and less jerking w his head when he swings. And also highlighted his bat being more flat w less pre pitch movement, allowing his to get to pitches faster and absolutely crush fastballs, something he previously struggled with

[Angel Oracle]

Even his K rate vs LHP (6 in 21 PAs) is comparable to vs RHP.

Lately, he’s made better contact vs LHP. Let him start a few more games against them, maybe the confidence grows?

 

[totdprods]

Come on y’all. The guy has like 45 at bats versus lefties over the course of four seasons haha.

Obviously there’s a limitation, but just about anyone could be awful against lefties (or righties) over a similar slice of time. The bigger issue is the BB:K ratio. Pretty difficult for any MLBer to have sustained success without the ability to close that gap. 

Absolutely no reason to be this worked up or worried about how he fared against lefties with a sample size this ridiculously small, no matter how bad it is. He could be no worse than a typical left-handed hitter over a real amount of time. 

Edited July 21, 2023 by totdprods

[Blarg]

Needs to work on his defense. 

[ScottT]

His defense is great.  Better than I thought.  Shit happens. 

I don't think the 5 walks, 56 strikeouts in 177 PA....    with a .977 OPS...  is sustainable.    Call me crazy.   Short term is one thing... but think Javy Baez.   That dude had some good years...   now, he's terrible.     Moniak didn't cost much... won't cost much....   so let's enjoy the ride.    Don't be surprised when it goes south though.   Very south.

[aznhockeyguy]

2 hours ago, ScottT said:

His defense is great.  Better than I thought.  Shit happens. 

I don't think the 5 walks, 56 strikeouts in 177 PA....    with a .977 OPS...  is sustainable.    Call me crazy.   Short term is one thing... but think Javy Baez.   That dude had some good years...   now, he's terrible.     Moniak didn't cost much... won't cost much....   so let's enjoy the ride.    Don't be surprised when it goes south though.   Very south.

His .439 BABIP is not sustainable in the long term.  He will eventually cool off unfortunately. 

[nando714]

5 hours ago, Blarg said:

Needs to work on his defense. 

Eh

tough play. The ball gets weird sometimes.

Sucks he didn’t make the play but that’s baseball

[Torridd]

On 7/21/2023 at 1:27 AM, Chuckster70 said:

 

Great breakdown. Thanks, Chuck. Luck or not? I hope he keeps it up because we need him desperately.

[Angel Oracle]

The important thing is that he is hitting like this while Trout, Drury, Neto, and Rendon have all been out for a while at different points this season.

The hitting vs LHP is also making some progress.

[DMVol]

5 hours ago, aznhockeyguy said:

His .439 BABIP is not sustainable in the long term.  He will eventually cool off unfortunately. 

You may be right…but after 174 AB’s, I don’t think you can dismiss him as a fluke…he won’t sustain a .330 average but he doesn’t have to in order to be a really helpful player…Kind of like Thaiss…at what point do you say this guy can help us….

[ten ocho recon scout]

11 hours ago, ScottT said:

His defense is great.  Better than I thought.  Shit happens. 

I don't think the 5 walks, 56 strikeouts in 177 PA....    with a .977 OPS...  is sustainable.    Call me crazy.   Short term is one thing... but think Javy Baez.   That dude had some good years...   now, he's terrible.     Moniak didn't cost much... won't cost much....   so let's enjoy the ride.    Don't be surprised when it goes south though.   Very south.

Only 5 walks?

"Walks are a false stat" - Mickey Hatch....iak.

[rbis]

8 hours ago, nando714 said:

Eh

tough play. The ball gets weird sometimes.

Sucks he didn’t make the play but that’s baseball

If not for this kid. we would be sellers right now. Last night's miscue was an aberration. It followed a couple of brilliant plays in the outfield earlier in the game. And then he immediately provided the game-winning RBI. I can readily point to a few doofus plays by Trout over the years that didn't exactly highlight his overall defensive abilities.