Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mickey Moniak has continued to make the most out of his promising start to the 2023 season.

Moniak earned the start out in center field for the Angels in their home series opener against the Minnesota Twins on Friday. He entered the game with a .400 batting average to go along with two home runs recorded in five contests played since he received a call-up from Triple-A Salt Lake on May 12.

Moniak logged three hits and one RBI against the Twins, and he fell a home run short of the cycle. He also showed off his keen defensive prowess in the seventh inning when he robbed Twins center fielder Michael A. Taylor of a home run.

Moniak now boasts a .474 batting average and a .500 OBP in six games played with the Angels this season, which has garnered the stamp of approval of Angels manager Phil Nevin.

“He's done everything we've asked,” Nevin said after the Angels’ 5-4 win over the Twins. “He went down with a great attitude after Spring Training after having a great spring. I know he was disappointed, but kept his head up.

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“Did a heck of a job for a month or so in Salt Lake and got an opportunity, and he's got wrapping his hands around running with it.”

Moniak has had quite an up-and-down run in the majors. His seven-year run in the Philadelphia Phillies organization came to a close when the Angels acquired him ahead of last season's MLB trade deadline. In the end, he failed to live up to the high expectations that were placed on him when the Phillies selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft.

Now, Moniak is aiming to continue to do what he can to help out the Angels this year.

“My career, if you look back on it, it's been a wave,” Moniak said on Friday. “There’s been lots of ups and downs. And so to be able to be healthy, to be able to contribute to this team and to be able to do it consistently since Spring Training, I think that's just a testament to a lot of hard work and a lot of time put into just trying to get better.”

Moniak will start the second game of the Angels' three-game home series against the Twins on the bench. The Angels will have an opportunity to clinch a series win for the first time since they completed a three-game road sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals earlier this month.