Seattle Mariners prospect 'does things most guys can't do'

The Seattle Mariners have several talented prospects in their minor league system. None may be more tantalizing than outfielder Lazaro Montes.

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Montes, who MLB Pipeline ranks as Seattle’s No. 3 prospect and No. 29 across baseball, possesses elite raw power and has the potential to be one of MLB’s top sluggers when he reaches the big leagues. That power has been on display all season in the minors, especially of late with Double-A Arkansas.

The 20 year old homered twice Friday night and hit another Saturday to continue a power surge of seven home runs in his past nine games while playing in the pitcher-friendly environments of the Texas League. The hot stretch helped Montes move atop the minor league leaderboard with 32 homers across 113 games in High A and Double-A.

During Friday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy, Travelers broadcaster Steven Davis shared what he’s seen from Montes in Arkansas.

“He jumps out at you because you see him and you go, ‘wow, that guy’s bigger than everybody else,’” Davis said. “… He’s pretty freakish in the fact that when he hits the ball, it does things most guys can’t do.”

Built different

Montes has hit 14 of his 32 homers this season in 46 games with Arkansas. His home run total leads the team despite being 11th in games played.

Davis pointed to a towering home run Montes hit recently as an example of how his power stands out among his peers in the minors. A roving Mariners scout was in attendance when it happened and was just as impressed with the blast.

“When he hit it, we all knew it was gone,” Davis said. “It was impressive, and talking to the Mariners coach that was in, he goes, ‘guys just don’t do that.’ He goes, ‘I’ve never seen anyone do that. No one else in our org does that.’

“I’ve gotten to watch him for two months, and I don’t want to feel like I’m getting numb to it, but that’s just what he does,” Davis added. “He hits the ball harder than everybody else. He hits it farther than everybody else.”

While Montes has some special power potential, his defense is a big question mark moving forward. The expectation is his path to becoming a productive big leaguer is solely reliant on his bat. However, Davis has been impressed by the glove and effort in the outfield so far.

“He plays pretty good defense too. He gives you a max effort in right field,” Davis said. “He covers some ground. He’s got a really good arm and he’s working at it. He wants to get better. It’s not like he’s one of those guys that just wants to show up and hit the ball and look good. He really cares and wants to be a big part of it.

“And then the personality jumps off the page too. He loves playing. He loves being around his teammates, and that joy is very evident with Lazaro when he takes the field.”

Hear the cull conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Mariners prospect ‘does things most guys can’t do’

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