Rafael Montero Gets One More Chance to Prove Himself
When the New York Mets first promoted Rafael Montero to the Majors in May of 2014, it was thought by many that he would be a centerpiece in the starting rotation for years to come. That has not been the case, however.
The New York Mets take on the Miami Marlins tonight at Citi Field in a three-game series starting tonight. It’s a crucial three-game series for both teams. The Marlins are 1.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second Wild Card Spot in the National League, while the Mets are 2.5 games back. The Marlins will send ace
The Marlins will send ace Jose Fernandez to the hill. The Mets will counter with Rafael Montero.
And Rafael Montero is Monday's starter, according to Terry Collins. Guess we saw that coming when he was scratched with B-Mets.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) August 28, 2016
It’s been a long time since Montero appeared in a game for the Mets. Back in April, he made two appearances for the team. Neither were all that successful. He was sent back down to the minor leagues shortly thereafter. Montero hasn’t started a game for the Mets since 2015. He’s made nine total starts in his MLB career.
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At only 25 years of age, he still has time to become a successful pitcher. Montero was called up by the Mets in 2014 when he was just 23. He made ten appearances that season, including eight starts. He went 1-3 with a 4.06 ERA that year. He appeared in five games in 2015, going 0-1 with an ERA of 4.50. Simply put, Montero’s short career as a Met has not been anything special.
When he originally came up through the Mets farm system, Montero was thought of as a top pitching prospect. There were some that even thought that he had just as much potential as Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Noah Syndergaard.
Montero was promoted the same time that Jacob deGrom was. The original plan back then was to have Montero join the starting rotation and have deGrom predominantly work out of the bullpen. An injury to Dillon Gee caused the the team to change their plans though. deGrom was also inserted into the starting rotation, and he’s been there ever since.
Collins says there is a pretty good chance deGrom will get skipped on Monday.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) August 26, 2016
Ironically, Montero is making the start tonight in place of deGrom. The Mets decided to skip his start to allow him to fix mechanical issues he’s been having lately. Montero will get another chance to prove that he can succeed at the Major League level.
Recently, he’s been pitching better in Double-A Binghamton. He’s 4-2 with a 1.70 ERA in eight starts for the Binghamton Mets. Those numbers are much better than the ones he put up in Triple-A Las Vegas. Montero made 16 starts for the 51s this season, going 4-6 with an ERA of 7.20. This is why he was demoted to Binghamton.
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Montero needs to prove himself tonight if he wants to have a future with the Mets. MLB rosters expand from 25 to 40 on September 1st. If he pitches well, Montero could earn himself a spot on the team for the final month of the season. After all, the Mets starting rotation is currently depleted by injuries. It all hinges on how he performs tonight.