Tigers’ Keider Montero Shows Promise In First Run Through Double-A
Righthander Keider Montero signed with little fanfare out of Venezuela in 2017.
He made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League that same year while still 16 years old.
Now 23, Montero is beginning to garner attention as a prospect as he misses bats at Double-A Erie.
High-A West Michigan manager Brayan Peña connected with Montero early in his career and has witnessed Montero’s development firsthand.
“Montero has everything that you want to see from a young pitcher,” Peña said. “His mechanics have improved tremendously. He’s got a powerful arsenal and talent that brings excitement to our organization.”
The 6-foot-1 Montero doesn’t have the natural size of some of the Tigers’ top arms, but he hasn’t allowed that to slow his progression.
After spending 2021 and 2022 with West Michigan, Montero climbed to Double-A for the first time this year.
Montero’s arsenal consists of a a mid-90s fastball that has topped at 97 mph, a high-70s curveball with a spin rate north of 3,000 rpm, a low-80s slider and a mid-80s changeup.
“His changeup has some really nice potential,” one American League scout said. “There’s a nice base level of confidence there, because he knows what he has—and I think it only sharpens from here.”
Through 14 appearances for Erie, Montero recorded a 4.83 ERA and 1.55 WHIP with 83 strikeouts and 30 walks in 63.1 innings.
“The Eastern League can flat hit,” the American League scout said. “It’s a good training ground for him. It only gets more challenging from there.”
“Montero has plenty of stuff and metric numbers to back up his advanced approach,” Peña said. “His stock can continue to rise.”
