Rockies corner infielder Elehuris Montero has experienced a common rookie whirlwind.
Fans clamored for the club to unleash him during multiple call-ups from Triple-A Albuquerque. Judged in early August to have done enough to stay on the big club, Montero, 24, built a .297 batting average through Aug. 10. But between then and Tuesday night’s non-start against the Giants, he batted just .200. He has struggled especially with the down-and-away breaking ball. He made the adjustment in the Minors, but it’s on his big league to-do list.
“He’s getting a lot of Major League breaking stuff, which is different from Triple-A,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “As we’ve said before, if a guy has good Triple-A breaking stuff, usually he’s in the big leagues.”
Some version of the story is the same for all but the very few stars who succeed from the beginning and make it last. For Montero, 24, who going into Tuesday was batting .239 with six home runs and 18 RBIs in 48 Major League games, the question becomes if the learning leads to stardom -- on a team best served by developing its own stars.
While no one knows that answer, some of Montero’s play indicates he may have a clue. That’s not a backhanded assessment, given that the game has smacked more than a few prospects down and out of the league. A two-homer game against the Giants on Aug. 19 and extra-base hits off the D-backs’ Madison Bumgarner and Zac Gallen have helped him maintain confidence as he works toward truly becoming a Major Leaguer.
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“Any type of experience up here this year leading into next year is going to help me,” Montero said, with bullpen catcher Aaron Muñoz interpreting. “I know what it takes to be up here now. I have a little bit more experience. Going into next year, I’m going to try to be 100 percent ready to go.”
Hitting coach Dave Magadan noted that pitchers are using Montero’s timing mechanism -- a step away from the pitcher with his front (left) foot -- against him by varying the speed of their motions to put him off-balance. Montero is working on the timing, and Magadan believes he will be rewarded. Magadan and assistant hitting coach Andy González coach him in Spanish, and all are on the same page.
“There’s definitely more on the table,” Magadan said. “He showed in Triple-A that he will, for the most part, swing at the right pitches. It’s always a learning curve, even for a guy that is proven in the Minor Leagues to be a disciplined hitter, facing pitchers we face you’ve got to get some experience against those guys.
“He’s very even-tempered, easy to talk to and open. Whenever we throw something at him that we think is going to help him, it’s right away, ‘Let’s go do it.’”
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Montero, working to improve his footwork at third base and simply gain experience at first base, will have the opportunity in 2023 to earn his first Opening Day in the Majors.
But, unless the Rockies make deals in the winter, veteran C.J. Cron and switch-hitting fellow rookie Michael Toglia (himself figuring out the Majors) also will figure into the first base picture. All three can be used as designated hitter, and Toglia also plays right field.
Montero -- plus Toglia and multiple other callups -- populate much of the lineup for the final weeks of this season as the Rockies evaluate. But Montero realizes those chances continue only if he and the others prove this year’s lumps lead to wins next year.
“Individually, you see ups and downs and results haven’t been there, obviously,” Montero said. “But most importantly, it’s guys going out there trying to compete every day, help the team win, however it may be.”
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TRIVIA
Going deep into the stats here, but here goes. According to STATS Inc., which qualifying starter (enough innings to qualify for the league ERA title) held opponents to the lowest batting average on balls in play -- BABIP to the cool kids -- over a full season?
A.) Kyle Freeland
B.) Pedro Astacio
C.) Shawn Estes
D.) Shawn Chacón
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The last few days have included articles that begin the process of assessing 2022 and looking forward to 2023. We’ll have a whole offseason to dig deeper, but to review what we have so far:
• Kris Bryant shuts it down for ’22, looks to ’23. Read more >>
• General manager Bill Schmidt says many areas must improve. Read more >>
• The Rockies weren’t nearly good enough at home. Read more >>
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Since 2003, Isotopes Park in Albuquerque has featured a signature quirk -- a terrace in center field that has been a reason defenders have either made highlight reels or made appointments with therapists. MLB, citing safety concern, has required that the outfield be on level ground starting next season.
But the Isotopes have given those who dealt with the hill a chance to say goodbye in this video.
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The Rockies’ Garrett Hampson remembered the hill being a presence.
“I didn’t get too many games in center, but I got a few,” Hampson said. “I remember I thought a ball was going to be hit over my head and I ran up to the hill to find that it wasn’t going to even make it to the wall. That was interesting.
“I saw Raimel Tapia make a few good plays out there on the hill. Just on video I’ve seen Wynton Bernard make a few good catches out there. I didn’t play enough games out there to really get a feel for it, but I’m sure a few people are going to miss running up that thing.”
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Right-hander Riley Pint, the Rockies’ 2016 first-round MLB Draft pick (third overall), made rapid progress this year until a strain in the right forearm area limited him to three appearances at Albuquerque. Pint, who turns 25 on Nov. 6, struggled in his early years and stepped away from the sport last season. But he returned, renewed, during Spring Training and pitched well enough at Double-A Hartford (55 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings over 38 appearances) to earn his Triple-A debut on Aug. 10.
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Pint threw three innings at Albuquerque before the Rockies ordered him to rest and prepare for next season. Rockies player development director Chris Forbes said Pint’s season revealed “lots of positives.” |
BOUCHARD DISPLAYING PATIENCE |
Outfielder Sean Bouchard has given the Rockies some factors to consider as they assess their depth picture for 2023. In 18 Major League games going into Tuesday, Bouchard has a .273 batting average and a .450 on-base percentage -- signs of strike zone control. He’ll be given a chance to prove that selecting him in the ninth round in 2017 out of UCLA constituted a bargain.
“Whether or not you’re a guy that hits homers, a guy that moves the ball around the field or takes walks, whatever it is the goal is to have good at-bats, know what the pitchers are trying to do to you and almost use that to your advantage,” Bouchard said.
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Two traits Bouchard, 26, showed at Triple-A Albuquerque have been absent in his brief Major League career -- functional speed (12 steals in Triple-A, none in the Majors) and occasional power (20 Triple-A homers to one with the Rockies). But he has made himself a competitor for a roster spot next season.
Yonathan Daza’s offensive consistency this year has him in line for starts and playing time, even though the proven player the Rockies seek most likely will be a center fielder. The projected fifth outfield spot figures to have many contenders.
“There’s an on-base component via the walk for Shawn,” manager Bud Black said. “Short stroke and there seems to be command of the strike zone, laying off borderline pitches. There’s some aggressiveness in there, too. He hit the ball well in Triple-A and we’ll see if that can carry over to the big leagues.”
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TRIVIA ANSWER
D.) Shawn Chacón
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Chacón, a product of Greeley Central High School, held opponents to a .260 in 2002 -- the year before he was named to the National League All-Star team. |
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