Mickey

Moniak

Moniak went 2-for-19 in his first seven games back from the IL, but he’s now homered in three straight games to erase the damage that stretch did to his OPS. He’s at .280/.330/.621 with 15 homers in 197 plate appearances.

Moniak set the tone in this one with a solo shot off Marlins’ starter Max Meyer in the first inning. He then doubled and tripled in his next two at-bats and had an opportunity in the seventh needing just a single to complete the cycle. He couldn’t pull it off, but this was his first great game since coming off the injured list 11 days ago. Coming into the night, he’d gone 3-for-23 since returning with only one extra-base hit. Here’s to hoping this will get him back on track.

Moniak put the Rockies on the board with a solo home run off Eury Pérez in the first inning. He later drew a walk in the sixth. The home run snapped a three-game hitless streak for the 28-year-old outfielder. He’s up to 13 on the season with 32 RBI while hitting .260/.314/.561 across 188 plate appearances.

Moniak returns to Colorado’s lineup for Monday’s series opener against the Red Sox at high-octane Coors Field following a one-month absence due to ankle tendinitis. The 28-year-old slugger has been a bit of a revelation for fantasy purposes this season, slashing a robust .280/.335/.607 with 12 homers, 28 RBI and one steal in 164 plate appearances over 43 games. He’s worthy of a roster spot, even in shallow fantasy formats, in any leagues where he may have been dropped.

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said last week that Moniak could be back “within a couple weeks,” and this is certainly a good sign on that front. Moniak was slugging .607 before hitting the injured list and could be an interesting name if he was dropped in your league given how banged up outfield currently is across the big leagues.

Moniak has been shelved since May 22 due to a right ankle tendinitis. Schaeffer noted the Moniak is making strides in his recovery which could mean that a minor league rehab assignment could be in the cards soon. The 28-year-old slugger was hitting .280/.335/.607 with 12 homers and 28 RBI in 164 plate appearances before landing on the injured list.

Moniak apparently suffered the injury during a collision in the outfield while the team was in Pittsburgh and had been attempting to play through it. He’s not expected to need much longer than the minimum stint on the injured list. Sterlin Thompson was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to take his place on the Rockies’ active roster.

Moniak’s homer was a go-ahead, three-run blast off Mitch Keller in the fifth. Quite the way to celebrate his 28th birthday. The former No. 1 overall pick by the Phillies is up to 12 homers while batting .315/.358/.693 through 137 plate appearances. The Rockies have one more game in Pittsburgh before returning to Coors for a six-game home stand.

The Rockies will go with an entire line shift with left-hander Jesus Luzardo toeing the slab for the Phillies, with Edouard Julien, Troy Johnston and Jake McCarthy joining Moniak on the bench for this one. We could see a similar lineup against Cristopher Sanchez on Sunday, which makes the 27-year-old slugger a tough start in leagues that utilize bi-weekly moves for hitters.

Moniak is hitting .329 with 11 homers, which seems like it should have produced more than 21 RBI. There’s no real improvement in his plate discipline or exit velocity numbers to back up all of this success, but he can remain in mixed-league lineups while he’s hot.