Checking in on the MLB Draft Top 10 — the bats

It’s been a bit over a month since the MLB Draft. The top ten picks were nearly an even split between bats and arms, with six pitchers going in the first ten picks and four bats rounding it all out.

Let’s take a peak at how those bats are doing since signing.

1-1 Mickey Moniak, Philadelphia Phillies ($6.1-million signing bonus)

While Zack Collins was my personal favorite bat in the draft, Moniak was hands down my favorite all around player. I felt the Phillies were wise going for a bat — either Corey Ray, Kyle Lewis or Moniak — with this year’s pitching options, and thus far it seems that they have chosen wisely.

Moniak went hitless in his June 25th Gulf Coast Phillies debut, but has been hitting ever since. Heading into Sunday he is slashing .315/.378/.397 with one double, triple and home run while swiping three of six stolen base attempts. He has struck out a bit, posting a 14-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 77 plate appearances, but that is hardly alarming at 18 years of age. He saw a seven game hitting streak come to an end yesterday, in which he went 11-for-29 (a .379 batting average).

1-2 Nick Senzel, Cincinnati Reds ($6.2-million signing bonus)

Senzel was the easiest pick in Mock Drafts. He filled a glaring need for the Reds and was arguably the most major league ready bat in the top picks. He has shown it thus far in his brief debut.

Surprisingly, Senzel didn’t hit all that well in the Pioneer League. He hit .152 in ten Rookie League games, but did show great plate awareness striking out five times and walking six. Since jumping up to the Midwest League of Low-A ball, he has been on fire.

He is slashing .333/.435/.536 since his promotion. He went 6-for-14 in his first three games in Low-A and posted a big 4-for-5 night on July 18th in which he launched his first career home run. He is showing advanced plate presence at the next level as well, walking 13.8 percent of the time while striking out 17.5 percent of his plate appearances. After posting a rather unlucky .172 BABIP at the Rookie Level, he has been helped by a .373 BABIP in Dayton, but I think that is more indicative of the solid contact he makes as opposed to bad positioning in the field.

1-5 Corey Ray, Milwaukee Brewers ($4.382-million signing bonus)

The Brewers wasted little time in seeing what the 21-year old outfielder had to offer. They skipped Ray over Rookie ball and Low-A, right to the advanced pitching of the Florida State League. While the numbers have been "disappointing", it’s fair to take into account he jumped right into the deep end of the pool.

Ray is slashing .226/.256/.286 going just 19-for-84 heading into Sunday’s action. Four of his hits have been for extra bases — three of which are doubles — and he is still searching for his first home run. He is striking out at a higher rate (18.3 percent) and walking just 3.7 percent of the time. He has been hitting better of late, so perhaps the small adjustment period is what he needed.

1-10 Zack Collins, Chicago White Sox ($3,380,600-million signing bonus)

Collins was a little busier than the other top ten, making it to Omaha with the Miami Hurricanes as part of the final eight in the College World Series. Despite being surprisingly eliminated by dropping two straight game, Collins played well, going 3-for-5 with three walks and a home run.

The 21-year old catcher didn’t get much rest, jumping right into the Arizona League for the White Sox. Despite going 1-for-11, Collins didn’t last very long, jumping to High-A after just three games.

Collins wasted little time introducing himself to the pitching of the Carolina League. He went 3-for-4 in his Winston-Salem debut, blasting his first professional home run. He’s looked much more like the bat that I was so excited about entering the draft since his promotion. He’s slashing .290/.389/.548 with two home runs in his first 31 at bats in the Carolina League. He is posting a very good strikeout-to-walk ratio for a hitter of power with an 8-to-5 mark.

You have to assume at some point Collins is going to hit a wall with playing a longer collegiate season, but for now, he just keeps on hitting.