Mickey Moniak slugs solo homer in loss

Moniak homered on the day of the trade deadline and then again a day later, when his two-year, $16.5 million extension was announced. He had been awful in 26 games since then, hitting .163/.202/.261, but he did drive in half of the Rockies’ runs in today’s loss. He’ll be a weak play in mixed leagues next week with the Rockies going on the road for six games in the Bronx and Detroit. He’s hit just .206/.256/.331 away from Coors Field this year.

Mickey Moniak and Jordan Beck are in the outfield corners with Cole Carrigg in center field. Veen has started just nine times in 17 games since being called up earlier this month, hitting .250 (7-for-28) with two homers, seven RBI and one steal. The 24-year-old prospect figures to continue sitting against left-handed starters, but he should do enough damage against right-handers to be useful in deeper fantasy leagues, especially when the Rockies are at home.

Both will miss a chance to face RHP Jake Irvin. Zac Veen and Brett Sullivan will get the call. This is likely just a normal rest day for Goodman as a catcher in a day-game-after-a-night-game situation.

Carrigg has hit a bit of a rough patch recently, hitting .230 (17-for-74) with zero homers and four steals across 20 games since the start of August. It’ll be Ezequiel Tovar handling shortstop with Mickey Moniak, Jake McCarthy and Zac Veen in the outfield for this one. The 24-year-old rookie offers enough all-around fantasy production to hang onto a roster spot in deeper mixed leagues, but can be cut loose in shallow formats with five weeks left on the calendar.

It’s now 21 homers for Moniak, and this one came at the expense of Tanner Bibee. The former first overall pick has enjoyed his new confines since joining Colorado -- that’s an understatement, Moniak’s OPS is close to .400 points higher at home than away -- and while he’s a vastly different player than he looked to be as a prep, he does offer some upside as long as he continues to make Coors Field his home.

Moniak, who came into the night 5-for-36 with one extra-base hit over the previous two weeks, hit a game-tying homer off Alex Vesia in the seventh. It was his third homer off a lefty this year and 20th overall.

Moniak put the Rockies on the board with a groundout that brought a run in to score in the first inning. He then tied the game with a three-run blast off Freddy Peralta in the third inning. The home run comes on the same day the 28-year-old slugger signed a two-year, $16.25 million contract extension. Moniak is up to 19 homers and 52 RBI while slashing .278/.318/.574 across 286 plate appearances.

The deal is now official. Moniak and the Rockies have agreed to buy out his final arbitration-eligible season, along with one additional year of free agency, keeping him in Colorado through 2028. The 28-year-old former first-overall pick has delivered top-40fantasy production among outfielders this season, hitting .277/.318/.565 with 18 homers, 49 RBI and one steal in 283 plate appearances across 75 games.

Moniak missed time at the start of the year with a finger injury, but has still delivered top-50 range fantasy value among outfielder this season, hitting .273/.317/.547 with 17 homers, 47 RBI and one steal in 278 plate appearances across 74 games. The 28-year-old has emerged as a middle-of-the-order run-producer for Colorado and makes a ton of sense as a stabilizing presence as they continue searching for their next foundational pieces. The new agreement will buy out his final arbitration-eligible season in addition to one year of free agency.

Moniak got the Rockies going in this one with a double in his first plate appearance and came home to score a few batters later. Moniak has had a great season so far with 17 home runs, a .278 batting average, and an .881 OPS through 72 games. There’s a chance that production could take a hit though with his name coming up in trade rumors and the chance that he’ll no longer play half of his games in Coors Field.