Mickey Moniak’s injury history is terrible for both MLB and the Angels

Mickey Moniak unquestionably endorses Whit Merrifield's views on player safety and the state of pitching in baseball.

After getting hit in the head with a fastball against the Colorado Rockies, Atlanta's Whit Merrifield has continually spoken to the media about how pitchers are throwing harder than ever, but with less control than ever.

"It used to be 'if you can't throw strikes, you can't be in the big leagues.' That has kind of gone by the wayside and now it's 'if you can't throw hard...you can't be in the big leagues,' and with that there are gonna come some problems," Merrifield said on SiriusXM.

Moniak, on four known incidents throughout his career, has been plunked by left-handed pitching, leading to both of his hands being injured as well as a fractured finger. Recently, he suffered a hand contusion. The "how" of all these situations with Moniak is relatively straightforward: left-handed pitchers want to bust their sinkers/two-seamers on left-handed hitters' hands to either create weak contact or set them up for a slider away. Pitchers need to throw inside to pitch effectively in the big leagues, but Moniak and Merrifield have first-hand experience that will tell you that they are worse at it than ever before. Alternatively, can you imagine how bad minor league pitchers are at pitching inside?

This epidemic throughout baseball is causing position players to miss games, which subsequently hurts the league's product and image. Position players like Moniak are still finding their place in the big leagues, and his rampant injuries might negatively affect his service time and overall legacy.

Moniak clearly needs to be in an outfield platoon, mostly because of the injury risk to the former 1st overall pick. Certain circumstances with the Angels have forced Moniak to face left-handed pitching more than the organization would have preferred, mainly Mike Trout's inability to stay on the field in recent years. If Trout, Ward, and Adell were the best versions of themselves, Moniak would solely be facing right-handers.

Outside of the injury risk, Moniak simply cannot post positive output against left-handers. In 125 plate appearances against lefties in his career, Moniak's posted a .177/.210/.244/.453 slash line. He has more HBPs than BBs against lefties, 3 to 2. He is 21 for 119, and of those 21 hits only 4 are XBHs.

Moniak was able to enter the series finale against the White Sox on September 18th as a pinch runner in extra innings, then drew a four-pitch walk later on (notably did not swing). He had missed the previous two games due to his hand contusion. Moniak is attempting to find his way in MLB. His 2024 season possesses his most games played than ever before. The 26-year-old needs both the Angels and MLB to adjust to the evolving game in order for him to shine on the field.