MLB.com recently conducted an interview in Spanish with Mets pitching prospect Rafael Montero about his future in baseball and his goals for 2014. One of the benefits of having a senior editor like David Conde, who reads and writes Spanish, is that it affords us the opportunity to conduct more interviews with many of our Latino prospects and also being able to translate interviews like this.
Here is an excerpt of the Interview:
MLB.com – You signed a bit late at age 20 for an International prospect, at any point in time were you worried that you weren’t going to get an opportunity?
Montero – If I told you that I worried, It would be a lie, because the truth is I was working hard to reach that goal. It’s one of the the primary goals that I worked hard toward. I always walk with my head held high and I knew it was coming.
MLB.com – Many have spoken about your calmness and your command, how do you explain that?
Montero – When you go into the game, you can’t be nervous, you have to enter calm and relaxed to be able to play the game the way you want.
MLB.com – In 2014 Matt Harvey won’t be on the team, but there are other young arms; Do you want to be in the next phase of young arms that will be rising to the team in Queens?
Montero – If they give me the opportunity to be there, I will be working hard and will put in the necessary work to get there.
MLB.com – What is the primary goal for 2014 for Rafael Montero?
Montero – To reach the Major Leagues, if it’s God’s will.
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One of the things I’m looking forward to in 2014 is the major league debut of both Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard. While it’s clear that Montero is more major league ready according to many in the Mets organization, it is also apparent to me that Thor is not that far behind.
I’m just ecstatic as the number of young arms with high upside that you can find speckled throughout each level of the Mets minors. From Kingsport to Las Vegas, there are no less than a dozen great young pitchers all oozing with top and middle of the rotation stuff. It’s an exciting time to be a Met fan.
By the way, I want to thank my senior editor David for translating this interview for our readers to enjoy, and our staff writer Gus for finding the link.
(Photo: MLB.com)
