This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- The parallels between the early careers of Mickey Moniak and interim manager Phil Nevin are unmistakable.

Both were No. 1 overall Draft picks from Southern California -- Moniak by the Phillies in 2016 out of La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad and Nevin by the Astros in 1992 out of Cal State Fullerton -- only to get a change of scenery after some early struggles. For Moniak, that chance is with the Angels after being acquired in the trade that sent right-hander Noah Syndergaard to Philadelphia on Tuesday, and he’s excited about the opportunity.

“Looking back on my time in Philadelphia, I was grateful for it and [for being] given a chance as an 18-year-old kid. I came up with them, debuted with them,” Moniak said. “But I’ve always been a guy that maybe takes a little bit to get comfortable at every level, and once I get comfortable, it’s on from there. So I wasn’t really given that opportunity there, which makes sense. They’re always in a pennant hunt with a lot of money on the field, so just to be here and be told that you’re gonna go out and play and have some fun is huge.”

Moniak, 24, played in 47 games with the Phillies over the last three seasons, hitting .129/.214/.172 with a homer and five RBIs. But he matched that homer total with a solo shot as part of Thursday's wild 8-7 loss to the A's that saw the Angels make history by hitting seven solo homers.

Nevin, who played in just 18 games with the Astros before being traded to the Tigers as a rookie in 1995 and had his best success with the Padres from 1999-2005, said he can relate to what Moniak went through in Philadelphia.

“We were drafted in the same position,” Nevin said. “Those pressures, you don’t think about it every day. You’re reminded of it just once in a while. You can say all you want, that it doesn’t matter or there’s no pressure, but at the end of the day, there is. It’s fan mail, there’s cards, the everyday things, the interviews. Being constantly reminded of that adds pressure to you.”

One thing that also helps is that Nevin and Moniak are already familiar with each other, as Moniak played travel ball in the San Diego area against Nevin’s son, Tyler, who is a year older than Moniak.

“Playing against his son throughout high school is a big connection we have,” Moniak said. “It’s cool to have him as manager and be able to pick his brain and all that. Things don’t happen overnight. Obviously, he had a great career, and now, he’s our manager. So just having a guy like that leading us I think is huge for me, and I’m going to try to learn as much as I can from him.”