McKenzie

Moniak

Moniak hit .270/.306/.518 with 24 homers in his first season with the Rockies, but he did so with unusually awful defensive metrics that rendered him just a replacement-level player according to both versions of WAR. If that was a glitch, maybe he’ll be an adequate platoon right fielder for the Rockies this season. Still, there was a good case for the team moving on and trying to find someone with more upside.

No word yet on the reason for the move. It’ll be Yanquiel Fernández taking over in right field with Warming Bernabel at DH in this one.

It’ll be Kyle Farmer taking over at DH with Mickey Moniak moving up to the leadoff spot.

Moniak went hitless in his first three-at bats on the afternoon until he smacked a leadoff double off of Tyler Phillips in the eighth inning. He then obliterated a 452-foot (104.4 mph EV) two-run shot off of Valente Bellozo in the ninth inning that pulled the Rockies to within two runs at 9-7. The 27-year-old outfielder has quietly had an amazing second half of the season and is now slashing a healthy .273/.303/.530 on the season with career-highs of 24 homers, 68 RBI and nine stolen bases across 437 plate appearances. He’s going to be a name to keep in mind in the later rounds of 2026 fantasy drafts.

Moniak came off the bench, and he hit a solo homer in the ninth to get the Rockies to within four. It’s not “Chris Paul hits huge three to cut lead to 42,” but it obviously had no effect on the score. Still counts. Moniak has homered 23 times in 2025, and his .830 OPS is easily a career high.

The Rockies were held without a run until Moniak stepped to the plate with two runners on in the eighth inning. He put the team on the board with a three-run blast off Michael Petersen. The 27-year-old outfielder has had a solid season with the Rockies, hitting .268/.305/.514 with 22 homers, 65 RBI, and nine steals across 429 plate appearances.

He even stole two bases. Moniak has 21 homers in 425 plate appearances, which is pretty good. Unfortunately, those come with a .306 OBP and horrendous defensive numbers in the Colorado outfield. He wasn’t considered a bad outfielder previously, but he’s been similarly disastrous in both center and right field for the Rockies. It’ll be interesting to see if the Rockies go forward with him next year. He shouldn’t cost much more than $3 million in arbitration, but it’d be nice if they could do better.

It looked like the Rockies had this one in the bank as they carried a 5-2 lead to the eighth inning, but Ian Happ swatted a game-tying three-run homer to change the entire complexion of the game. Not to worry though as Ryan Ritter started the home half of the ninth with a single off of Cubs’ closer Daniel Palencia and Moniak followed with a rope into right field that plated Ritter and sent the Rockies’ home faithful into a frenzy. Not bad for his only at-bat on the day. For the season, the 27-year-old outfielder is now hitting .263/.299/.506 with 18 homers, 55 RBI and six stolen bases.

Freeman has been performing in a super utility role for the Rockies and has settled into the leadoff spot in their lineup. He’ll get a breather in this one though. Orlando Arcia will draw a start at second base and bat ninth for the Rockies against Cubs’ right-hander Cade Horton while Mickey Moniak slides up to the leadoff spot in the lineup.

Moniak launched a sixth-inning pitch off Michael McGreevy 413 feet at 107.1 mph off the bat. The former first overall pick had been off to a slow start to August, so this was a nice effort. He’s now hitting .264/.306/.521 on the season with 18 home runs and 46 RBI, and has emerged as a deep league fantasy option in his new home in Colorado.