It has been a season of fits and starts for Mickey Moniak.

The longtime Phillies prospect made a gradual ascent through the Phillies minor league system, slowly picking up steam along the way.

This past spring, Moniak was one of the biggest stories in training camp and was set to be the team’s starting center fielder on opening day. On the last day of camp, Moniak suffered a broken hand that derailed his hopes of seeing his first major league opening day.

After a long rehab, Moniak again started his climb through the minor league system as he played eight games between Clearwater and Reading, with the results being good enough to send him back to the majors where he found himself fighting for playing time. Barely having had a chance to shake off all the rust, it returned as he found himself sitting on the bench for extended periods and his offensive numbers started to dive.

In two weeks, Moniak had just 29 plate appearances and hit .160 (4-for-25) before being optioned back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley for more steady work.

Some are ready to throw Moniak onto the pile of young players that have suffered under recent Phillies regimes because of a lack of trust to give them the playing time they need to become solid major leaguers. Former manager Joe Girardi, who was fired recently, was pointed to as one of the culprits.

“I try not to focus on the business side of it. I think that gets me into trouble and gets me away from what I need to be focusing on and that’s playing the game,” said Moniak of the various theories about why young players have at times died on the vine that is the Phillies bench.

“Having a lot more young guys up there makes it a lot easier on us because we are going through the same thing. We can lean on each other to get through it and go through the difficulties of learning to play in the big leagues. The only way to master that highest level is to get at-bats and that’s not going to happen overnight.”

In six games with the IronPigs, Moniak is batting .250 and launched his first home run of the season against Buffalo (Toronto Blue Jays) last Tuesday night when he faced major league rehabber Nate Pearson in an extended battle at the plate - which ended when Moniak finished it off with the long ball on pitch No. 10.

“That was the feel I had the whole camp and to feel that again feels pretty good,” said Moniak of the home run.

HIT THE ROAD, PIGS ... Lehigh Valley saw its home troubles continue this past week against Buffalo when they went 2-4 to drop their home record to 13-17 on the season. On the road, Lehigh Valley has played well, going 23-13. While the pitching staff is consistent with a 4.81 ERA and 157 runs allowed at home versus a 4.96 mark and 166 runs scored away from Coca-Cola Park, the offense has not. The friendly confines are not as friendly, with the Pigs batting .228 and crossing the plate 130 times at home compared to a .256/205 mark on the road. Buffalo’s success over the Pigs vaulted them into the top spot in the IL East by ½ game over Rochester (Washington Nationals) and 1 ½ games over both Jacksonville (Miami Marlins) and Lehigh Valley.

A DEBUT AND A NEW GUY ... Lehigh Valley will welcome back pitcher Michael Kelly, who went to Philadelphia to make his MLB debut Thursday in Washington, D.C. where he threw a shutout inning against the Nationals with the only blemish being a walk. On Sunday, he was perfect in an inning against the Nats and recorded his first major league strikeout. The Phillies optioned Kelly back to Lehigh Valley Monday. Meanwhile, utility infielder Daniel Robertson was acquired by the Phillies from Minnesota for cash in a deal that will provide more depth to the infield chart. Robertson has played parts of five MLB seasons and is a career .227 hitter with experience at second, third and short.