The Mets have promoted RHP Rafael Montero to Triple-A Las Vegas, according Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.
Lynn Worthy of Press and Sun Bulletin, later reported that this was likely just a spot-start situation, as the B-Mets expect to have Montero back in their rotation for the end of next week. He did note, in a later tweet however, that nothing is set in stone – and referenced Collin McHugh’s performance in AA in the past when he was only supposed to be up for one start.
Well, we’ve been calling for some movement in the field of Rafael Montero for a little while now as he has dominated in Binghamton for the most part. The Mets organization has responded to Montero’s excellent performance so far this year with a promotion to AAA, where he will join the Las Vegas rotation as he perhaps progresses to an MLB call-up later this year.
Montero was one of my favorite prospects to cover last year because he had such amazing command and what I described as a bulldog mentality on the mound. He is intimidating when he pitches with great stuff, mixing in a slider, change-up, and occasional curve in with his fastball that has exceptional late movement.
I am part of the camp that believes Montero should have had some work in AA and then skipped Las Vegas, but regardless, he will get some time to fine tune himself before making a major league appearance. He’s knocking on the door…
So far in 2013, Montero is 4-3 with a 3.47 ERA through 46.2 innings, where he has allowed 40 hits – and only two home runs. He has walked just six batters, in contrast to his 54 punchouts. Those Las Vegas fans are lucky – Zack Wheeler and Rafael Montero in the same rotation!
