Cuban prospect Lázaro Montes was selected by Baseball America as the Seattle Mariners’ Minor League Player of the Season.Montes split his season between Class A+ (67 games) and Double-A (64). He posted a .241/.354/.504/.858 slash line, with 118 hits in 490 at-bats, 19 doubles, seven triples, 32 home runs, 83 walks, and 89 RBIs.
Just 67 games were enough to earn him the MVP of the Northwest League (Class A+), where he hit 18 of his home runs and drove in 50 runs. Montes will turn 21 next month and is currently ranked the 28th ranked prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, third behind the Seattle Mariners.
Expect Montes to be given a chance to get a chance to make the team’s roster next year in spring training. The Number 3 prospect in the team’s farm system signed for 2.5 million in 2022 is now looking like a worthy acquisition.
Montes’ best tool is still his immense raw power from the left side of the plate. He has outstanding bat speed with plenty of pop in his swing to drive the ball in the air, and he can regularly register elite-level exit velocities.
Although there is some swing-and-miss to his game and there will always be strikeouts, but he also draws walks (14.4 percent walk rate in 2024) as he’s bettering his strike zone and pitch recognition everyday. He is often compared to fellow Cuban slugger Yordan Alvarez.