By: Matt Rappa, managing editor 
PHILADELPHIA — Charlie Manuel, former Philadelphia Phillies World Series manager and current senior advisor to general manager Matt Klentak, joined Mornings with Anthony Gargano on Monday and discussed top pick Mickey Moniak, Reading Fightin Phils outfielder Dylan Cozens, first basemen Tommy Joseph and Ryan Howard, as well as former Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins.
Regarding Moniak out of La Costa Canyon High School, Manuel had nothing but praise for the outfielder, comparing him to Miami Marlins outfielder Christian Yellich and former Phillies second baseman Chase Utley:
"We had a lot of scouts there. We had a lot of people that saw him play. He was one guy that we definitely targeted after seeing all these players," said Manuel. "There [were other] guys out there that I liked, but at the same time it was very important that we get a high-caliber player and somebody that we want. That's exactly what happened.
This kid is a good player. He's got a great approach to the plate. He's got a swing like Yellich, the guy in Miami, Florida, and also a little bit of Utley in him as far as his approach to the plate. Utley just holds his bat straight back a little bit. This kid just has his up a little higher, but he's a line drive hitter with power.
I'd say he's going to hit 15-25 home runs and he's going to have a high batting average. He can run. He's a 6.6 runner in the 60 [yard dash]. He plays center field … a guy that can really go get the ball. He was one of the guys that we wanted and we definitely had first choice and we took him. That's good. He's going to be a great player.
He can definitely hit 1-2-3 [in the lineup.] I think eventually he's going to be a three hitter when he comes with experience to the big leagues. The kind of hitter that he can be, he can be an all-around kind of hitter. To put someone like this guy in our lineup, if you can project him and you definitely can because of his tools, he's going to be kind of like a Chase Utley kind of hitter."
When asked why the Phillies stayed away from drafting a high school pitcher with the top pick, such as South Jersey native Jason Groome or A.J. Puk out of the University of Florida, Manuel stated the risk of not being able to accurately project a high school pitcher as well as a high school bat:
"I think the arm comes more risky nowadays than the bat because you're taking an 18-year-old kid out of high school. A lot of times nowadays with high school baseball and how much a guy pitches with travel ball and stuff like that, he's already used up a lot of bullets in his arm. Somewhere along the line, he will have some problems with his arm eventually, but some pitchers can go a long time. … It's a high risk and professional teams like to go nowadays with college pitchers whose got a path to their record because they are approaching the big leagues. The position players, most Major League teams still love to go after that big-talented high school kid."
Regarding Cozens, who leads the Eastern League with 19 home runs, Manuel said he 'probably could hit his way' into a September call-up.
"I saw him play two games when I was up there last week. He's got 19 [home runs]. That's absolutely amazing. He's doing kind of what we wanted him to do. My expectation of him, ever since I saw him in Lakewood is that he's going to some home runs and actually I think he's going to hit anywhere from .275 to .300. I think he's going to be a consistent kind of hitter.
He's still got a ways to go yet. He's learning the strike zone and he's learning how to work counts and things like that. He's a little ways off, but I would say from here on out, from the second part of the season until down near the first of September, I think he definitely probably could hit his way in a call up."
When asked how he would handle the Tommy Joseph–Ryan Howard situation at first base, Manuel said you have to keep letting Joseph play to 'find out how good he is.':
"I think Tommy Joseph right now looks really good at the plate. He's come a long way from where he was last year and two years ago. He looks good at the plate. He's always had a quick bat. He's always had a good approach and he's hitting the ball very good.
At the same time, too, I think of Ryan. I will always have high regards and a lot of respect for Ryan Howard. I don't want nothing bad to happen to Ryan Howard. I want him to play as along as he wants to. But at the same time too, his time is faltering and it's hard to play both of them.
I think eventually Ryan, like Jim Thome, if he's going to continue his career, more likely it will be somewhere else. For Thome to hit 500 home runs and the way he did it, and all of a sudden he stayed around in the game … he was producing and ended up hitting 612. For Jimmy to do that, that's a good credit to who he is.
I've always been straight up to Ryan Howard and Jimmy. I think Jimmy Thome, when I talked to him, it was very hard for me to explain things to him but he definitely, with his back problems and things like that, had to go back to the American League where he could DH and get some at-bats. He went as a DH a couple of years and he didn't play very much on the field. He totally DH'd.
I think some American League team would benefit by getting Ryan and putting him [against] right-handed pitchers and give him a chance to see what he's got left. I see at times when he hits the ball he definitely still has his power, but at the same time too, if he's going to be usable, he's going to have to play some to get some at-bats."
When asked how some of the core players from his Phillies teams, such as the recently-designated shortstop Jimmy Rollins of the Chicago White Sox, Manuel said he 'feels for them.' Regarding Rollins and the prospects of entering the Hall of Fame, Manuel compared his career to that of 24-year veteran Omar Vizquel:
"I feel for them because evidently they still enjoy playing. They want to stay in the game. It's hard to really explain, when you play that long and you've been around the game, believe me, you miss the field and you miss the clubhouse. You miss all of the camaraderie and everything about it. You miss the BS'ing and it's kind of the environment that you grew up in all your life. That gets to the point where one day, sooner or later at the end, you have to break away.
I never really liked to get into talking about Hall of Famers. I don't have a vote. There's things about it that I think could definitely improve in the voting and how they pick it. … When you compare [Omar Vizquel and Jimmy Rollins] to the other shortstops that's in the Hall of Fame, their numbers speak for themselves and how they played. Both of them had big, longevity careers and they've been two of the top shortstops in the game.
Jimmy had a personality. Jimmy was one of my favorite players, too. I look at Jimmy sometimes and who he was. He was kind of underrated. People didn't realize his production as far as knocking runners in. He was knocking runners in the seventh, eighth and ninth-hole. He averaged anywhere from 75 to 90 RBIs a season."
