Powerful Lazaro Montes Excites Mariners With His Potential
During his U.S. debut this year, 6-foot-4, 256-pound lefthanded slugger Lazaro Montes continued to showcase the immense power and loud exit velocities that made him the Mariners’ top 2022 international signing.
Perhaps even more importantly, Montes also showed improvement in his swing decisions and contact rate.
It coalesced into a standout age-18 season for the Cuban corner outfielder.
Montes batted .303/.440/.560 with 13 home runs in 70 games, split between the Arizona Complex League and Low-A Modesto. His 1.001 OPS ranked eighth among minor leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances.
“During (last) offseason, I think he started to really understand who he was and what are his strengths and what are his weaknesses,” Mariners farm director Justin Toole said.
“That really helped him to develop a good plan and approach at the plate, with the help of our staff . . .
“And he’s been able to execute that, which is just a tremendous compliment to him at such a young age.”
As an amateur, Montes developed into a premier power-hitting prospect while working with the same hitting instructor who trained Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez.
After signing with the Mariners for $2.5 million, Montes slugged .585 with 10 homers last year in the Dominican Summer League. But he also posted a concerning 33% strikeout rate.
Montes cut his strikeout rate to 25% this season, despite facing tougher pitching.
“It was him learning about himself as a hitter—learning what pitches he does damage on, what pitches he can lay off, what pitches to hunt,” Toole said.
After an Aug. 3 promotion to Modesto, Montes hit .321 with seven homers in 33 games and helped the Nuts claim the California League title. He had a 13-game hitting streak in August, including six homers over an eight-game stretch.
Montes finished the season with a 90th percentile exit velocity of 106.3 mph, highlighted by a 118 mph homer in the ACL.
“The exciting part is I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he’s capable of,” Toole said. “He’s excited to get to work and continue to build on the year he had.”
MARINADE
— Second baseman Ryan Bliss, acquired from the D-backs at the trade deadline, joined Reds prospect Blake Dunn as the only two minor league players in the past 30 years to hit at least .300 with 20-plus homers and 50-plus stolen bases in a season. The 23-year-old Bliss batted .304 with 23 homers and 55 steals in 128 games split between Double-A and Triple-A.
— Shortstop Colt Emerson, the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s draft, opened his pro career by hitting .374/.496/.550 with two homers and eight steals in 24 games between the Arizona Complex League and Low-A Modesto. The 18-year-old also went 11-for-20 in four playoff games during Modesto’s run to the California League title. That performance included a walk-off single in the league’s division series.
