How Moniak can take a step forward after breakout '23

TEMPE, Ariz. -- After years of trying to live up to the hype of being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, Mickey Moniak had a breakout season with the Angels in 2023.

But the 25-year-old believes he can be even better offensively as he continues to learn to swing at better pitches and not force things offensively. Moniak, who is expected to see some time as leadoff hitter this year along with Luis Rengifo, was aggressive at the plate last year, drawing just nine walks in 323 plate appearances. He hit a respectable .280/.307/.495 with 14 homers, 21 doubles and 45 RBIs in 85 games but is working on becoming more patient without sacrificing his ability to drive the ball.

“I definitely think [walks] can be part of my game,” Moniak said. “It’s a fine line between doing something I feel like is beneficial to my game, and that’s being aggressive and putting the ball in play hard. But it’s also about swinging at the right pitches. So it’s not necessarily looking to walk more, but to make sure that I'm swinging at the right pitches consistently.”

Angels manager Ron Washington lauded Moniak’s bat-to-ball skills but believes he can continue to become a more well-rounded player as he develops, because he also has the tools to be a strong defender and an above-average baserunner. He also said he plans to give Moniak plenty of looks against lefties this spring because of Moniak’s career .172 average with one homer in 87 at-bats against southpaws.

“They say he's weak on left-handers, so Moniak can face some left-handers now,” Washington said. “I'm not just going to put him in a situation where he’s comfortable. I'm going to put him in a situation where he's uncomfortable and then makes himself comfortable.”

Moniak is in a different situation from last spring, when he was competing for a roster spot and didn’t make the Opening Day roster despite a strong spring. Now, he's guaranteed a place on the club. He’s expected to be the club’s primary right fielder as part of a five-man outfield mix that includes center fielder Mike Trout, left fielder Taylor Ward and extra outfielders Aaron Hicks and Jo Adell.

“I came into spring with the mentality of fighting for a job,” Moniak said. “If you lose that edge of competing, you might get complacent. My whole mentality is to compete and fight for my job, even though this year may seem a little bit more secure. Because at the end of the day, there's always room to get better.”

Sandoval makes his first start of the spring
Left-hander Patrick Sandoval made his Cactus League debut in the Angels' 4-1 win over the Guardians at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Thursday, retiring all six batters he faced and striking out two. He pitched so well that he had to throw 15 extra pitches in the bullpen after his outing.

“I felt good,” Sandoval said. “I felt like my body was moving a little faster than my arm. So the fastball felt good, but my offspeed was a little behind. But today was really good for my confidence with my fastball because I was able to locate where I wanted and got some swings and misses with it.”

Sandoval, 27, is looking to bounce back this year after he saw his ERA jump from 2.91 in 148 2/3 innings in 2022 to a 4.11 ERA in 144 2/3 innings in ’23. He said one of the keys that new pitching coach Barry Enright has been preaching is getting ahead in the count.

“It’s a very basic concept, but pitchers overthink things and complicate things for ourselves,” Sandoval said. “So I think just constantly hammering in the philosophy of getting ahead and winning counts is good for us right now.”

Angels tidbits
• Right-hander Andrew Wantz is being stretched out as a starter after being used primarily as a reliever over the past three seasons. Wantz was a starter in the Minors in 2019, and the Angels believe he has the pitch mix to start. The Angels have plenty of relief options, and he gives them starting pitching depth at Triple-A Salt Lake.

• Washington said he’d like to see catcher Logan O'Hoppe behind the plate for roughly 125-135 games this season as the club’s primary backstop. O'Hoppe, 24, was limited to 51 games last year after suffering a torn labrum in his left shoulder that required surgery in late April and kept him out of action for four months.