Welcome to the 2025 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2025. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
No. 43, Mickey Moniak (-0.6 rWAR)
One day before the 2025 season started, and with a deep bench of
outfield prospects, the Rockies made a surprise signing in inking former No. 1 overall MLB Draft pick, Mickey Moniak, after he was cut by the Angels. Having just traded Nolan Jones in return for Tyler Freeman, an infielder/outfielder, Moniak offered inexpensive depth in the outfield, and it turned out to be a decent investment for the Rockies.
A season after hitting 14 homers and driving in 49 runs with a .219 batting average for the Angels in 2024, the 2016 No. 1 MLB Draft pick came to Colorado for only $1.25 million and significantly improved his numbers. He finished second in homers on the team with 24, only trailing Hunter Goodman’s 31, while driving in 68 runs, scoring 62 himself, hitting 20 doubles and finishing seventh in MLB with eight triples. He slashed .270/.306/.518 with a .824 OPS in 434 at-bats in 135 games with 110 strikeouts and 22 walks. He also stole three bases and was caught stealing three times.
His homers, RBIs, runs, stolen bases, walks, games played, slugging percentage and OPS were all career highs, marking the best season in the 27-year-old’s six-year MLB career. Moniak’s performance at the plate netted him a 1.8 offensive rWAR, another career-best.
In the middle of September, Moniak went on a tear, hitting a home run in four straight games. The streak ended on Sept. 18 with a two-run shot against the Marlins at Coors Field.
As it turned out, the four homers were his final four of the season. While the Rockies never announced an official injury, Moniak didn’t play in the final three games of the 2025 season.
Moniak’s homers and extra base hits provided plenty of chances for announcers and fans to reference Toni Basil’s 1980s hit “Oh Mickey” and the accompanying lyrics “you’re so fine.” On another related 80s music note, he also had one of the most fun walk-up songs with Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue.”
One of his triples, one down the right field line on Aug. 31, was especially memorable as it helped the Rockies walk-off the Cubs.
On defense, Moniak wasn’t as fine. He played in 117 games in the outfield: 72 in right, 38 in center and 15 in left. He was a DH 15 times and a pinch hitter 16 times. In the field, he finished with a -2.7 defensive rWAR, which was by far the worst of his career. (His previous worst was a combined -0.5 in split time between the Phillies, who drafted him, and Angels, who traded for him as part of the Noah Syndergaard deal.)
In the wide open spaces of the Coors Field outfield, and at away stadiums, Moniak made seven errors, recorded -23 defensive runs saved, -8 outs above average, and -12 fielding run value. Moniak’s -23 DRS was the worst in MLB.
For a team that lost 119 games and struggled at the plate, on the mound and in the field, Moniak brought a much needed pop to the Rockies offense and surprised the baseball world with 24 homers. At the same time, his defense made him a liability, much like Freeman.
Moniak will remain under Colorado team control in 2026 with an estimated arbitration figure of $2 million. With his ability to get big hits and deliver power to an offense that sorely needs it, hopefully Moniak can prove this year wasn’t an anomaly and continue to contribute in 2026. Perhaps, he’ll be more valuable if he spends more time as DH.
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