When the New York Mets re-signed relievers Fernando Salas and Jerry Blevins one of the questions became what will they do to create the two needed spots on the 40-man roster.
One of the most talked about options was designating right-handed pitcher Rafael Montero for assignment.
Instead, the Mets designated utility guy Ty Kelly for assignment (cleared waivers and returned) and traded right-handed pitcher Gabriel Ynoa to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations. Surprising some (myself included) that the Mets continued to hold onto Montero over Ynoa.
Montero, 26, got his third chance at the big league level with the Mets in 2016 making three starts and six relief appearances. He continued his major league struggles with a 8.05 ERA, 2.053 WHIP and 16 walks in only 19 innings.
Montero has now pitched 70.1 innings over three major league seasons with a 5.15 ERA, 5.02 FIP and 1.64 WHIP. The lone bright side to his major league stint is his 9.2 K/9 to this point.
The once promising pitching prospect (ranked #3 in Mets 2014 Top 10 and #68 in MLB by BA) now comes into Mets camp as an afterthought will little to no expectations.
Maybe, now that Montero is just an extra arm and not really part of the Mets plans going forward he will get back to pitching aggressively within the strike zone (2.6 BB/9 in minors, 5.4 BB/9 in majors). Las Vegas 51s pitching coach Frank Viola told the New York Post that could be reason why Montero has looked “great” this spring.
Viola goes on to say about Montero, “The best part is there’s no pressure on him right now. Nobody is talking about him, so he might be able to sneak back through the backdoor, and be nice and relaxed and hopefully that will get him going again.”
Montero dominated in the lower minors with the aggressive approach of pounding the bottom of the strike zone with his sinking fastball and utilizing a plus changeup. That approach still hasn’t been seen yet in the majors from Montero.
The control issues really began for Montero in the 2014 season when he started out the year in Triple-A Las Vegas (not always a great place for control pitchers). In his last three starts before his big league debut he walked 4,3 and 3. He had never walked that many in his career in a three start span and it was only second time he’d ever walked four in a game (first was in 2011 for Kingsport Mets).
After a solid debut with the Mets on May 14, 2014 (6 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB) he would walk four batters in his next start in only 4.1 innings, three the next start and had another four walk game in September.
So what happened to Montero’s control and why did it go away so fast? Can we blame the high walk totals to the hitters haven of the Pacific Coast League? He has a career 3.4 BB/9 in Triple-A with the 51s, 2.3 BB/9 in Double-A, 2.3 BB/9 in A+ and 1.9 BB/9 in Rookie Level.
To me, stuff isn’t the big issue for Montero, his fastball still sits 92-93 and topped out at 95 MPH in the majors last year. His slider has been solid, held hitters to .410 OPS with it last season.
However, the pitch that I watched him use to dominate minor leagues was his changeup. He wasn’t afraid to use it in any count or throw it to any type of hitter. Montero now seems gun shy with the pitch, and when he does throw it, he nibbles at the corners hoping the hitter will chase it.
Viola said this about Montero’s stuff, “Throwing his fastball in the 92-94 mph range, and his changeup remains an effective pitch that is perhaps under-utilized.”
To start becoming an effective pitcher again and hopefully reward the Mets continued faith in him, Montero needs to get back to throwing his changeup without fear.
