The Los Angeles Angels activated outfielder Mickey Moniak on Sept. 9 off the injured list and after missing a month of the year, his quiet power stroke didn’t miss a beat against the Cleveland Guardians Wednesday.
With two outs in the third inning, Moniak reached down and lasered a two-run homer into the right-field seats, giving the Angels the lead. It was his first hit of the series and his first since his activation.
The 24-year-old has found a bit of new life with the Angels after the deadline trade brought him over from the Philadelphia Phillies and is on the right track, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“I’ve been feeling good,” Moniak said. “The finger feels … close to 100 percent. It still feels a little weird as far as being numb, but that’s going to happen when you split it open like that. But as far as playing-wise goes, I feel like it’s at 100 percent. I’ve been feeling pretty good at the plate and swinging the bat pretty well.”
Since the trade, Moniak has posted a .250/.270/.611 slash and a 143 wRC+. His slugging percentage is something to highlight and in that span, he’s logged six extra-base hits in those 37 plate appearances.
“I think it’s always been there,” he said. “I think if you look back at my Minor League numbers, it gradually increased. Just kind of maturing with my body. And this Spring Training, I hit six homers. So it’s always been there. But it’s hitting, and you have to be comfortable up there and have everything working for you. I feel comfortable here, and I think that’s why the numbers are kind of coming up.”
In 18 games with the Phillies this year, Moniak had no home runs and just one double, but the young outfielder has consistently maintained confidence his power is one of his best tools.
Taylor Ward ‘feeling strong’ than at any point
The Angels have had a decent amount of injury luck in the backend of their season, mainly with some of the star players that have defined the bits and pieces of success in 2022, including Taylor Ward.
Ward hasn’t been the same player he was for the Angels since crashing into a wall on May 20, and that incident derailed what was an unexpectedly incredible start to 2022. For the first 35 games, he was the hottest hitter in baseball slashing .347/.459/.686 with a 221 wRC+ with 10 home runs and 26 RBI.
But since June 2, Ward’s regressed to below-average production, posting a .641 OPS and a wRC+ of 84 over his next 80 games heading into play on Sept. 14. However, to Ward’s own admission, he’s been progressing in recent weeks as he’s closer to regaining his feel for the game.
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