Yankees Daily

Jesus Montero – Prospect Profile
by Sean Serritella YankeesDaily

Full Name: Jesus Montero
Position: Catcher
Born: 11/28/1989
Birthplace: Guacara, Venezuela
Height: 6′ 4″
Weight: 225
Bats: R
Throws: R

Background and bio:

Jesus Montero was signed by the New York Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on Oct. 17, 2006 for $1.6 million. Montero was reported to be the best player and to have the best power of any 2006 international signee.

His fourth of July jersey in 2009 was auctioned off for over $600.

He was born in Guacara, Venezuela and he enjoys fixing engines and it is a hobby of his. His father works in body shops in Venezuela and that’s where his influence came from.

He hit the ball out of the ballpark back in Venezuela.

Minor League Career:
2007:

Made his professional debut with the GCL Yankees, batting .280 with three home runs and 19 RBI in 33 games. He was rated the Yankees’ top catching prospect (sixth overall) and the organization’s “Best Power Hitter” by Baseball America. On 8/31 he went 2-for-5 against the GCL Dodgers in the GCL championship with a game-tying home run to lead the Yankees to a decisive game three win.

2008 Charleston River Dogs:

Montero owned the eighth-most hits (171) among all Minor League players and most among all catchers in 2008. He led the Yankees organization in batting average, runs, hits and RBI while ranking fourth in home runs.

Because of his great year he was named the seventh-best prospect in the South Atlantic League by Baseball America. Jesus led the SAL and ranked third among all Class A batters in hits and led all SAL catchers with a .993 fielding percentage with only four errors and a 588 TC. He was then selected to the midseason All-Star team and the South Atlantic League’s postseason All-Star team as the league’s top catcher.

He went 1-for-2 and caught the final four innings in the All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium, playing for the World Team. The Futures Game features baseball’s best minor league prospects. Montero then participated in the SAL All-Star Home Run Derby, totaling 11 homers for a second-place finish.

He had a great year as he recorded a career-high 15-game hitting streak from July 29-Aug. 13, batting .414 (24-for-58) with five doubles, four HR and 11 RBI.

Attended Spring Training with the Yankees as a non-roster invitee, hitting a solo-homer in his only at-bat. Was named by Baseball America as the second-best prospect in the Yankees system following the season, as well as the organization’s Best Power Hitter.

Accolades for the 2008 season:

10/02/2008 Baseball America High Class A All-Star
08/26/2008 SAL Post-Season All-Star
07/13/2008 Futures Game Selection
06/17/2008 SAL Mid-Season All-Star

2009 Tampa and Trenton:

He began 2009 with the Tampa Yankees, the Class A-Advanced Florida State League affiliate of the New York Yankees. On June 3, 2009, Montero was promoted to the Double-A Trenton Thunder. Despite having played only a portion of the 2009 season in Trenton, Montero was added to the Eastern League All-Star roster.

He was named the Yankees’ second best prospect for 2009 and the third best prospect in baseball by Baseball America. He was named to the All-Star Futures Game for the second year in a row. Montero’s season ended prematurely when he sustained a broken finger while catching.

He was named the Yankees’ best prospect for 2010 by Baseball America and the fifth best in all of baseball.

Accolades for the 2009 season:

07/15/2009 EAS Mid-Season All-Star
07/12/2009 Futures Game Selection
06/20/2009 FSL Mid-Season All-Star

Strengths:

Jesus Montero’s biggest strength is his bat. Some scouts say that he is the best hitting prospect in the minor leagues. He has god-like ability to put the barrel head on the ball and has raw power with excellent height with room to fill out and add muscle. Some scouts have said that he looked like a Travis Hafner at the age of 16. His power rating is top of the scale as he projects as an 80 on a scouting scale of 20-80.

He keeps his hands low in his stance with his bat head straight up and down. He has excellent bat speed that explodes through the ball and he’s compact through the strike zone while keeping a line drive swing. Montero is excellent at keeping his hands inside the ball to left-center and center field. He has repeatable swing mechanics and has a low K rate that will allow him to compete for batting titles in the future.

He has great hand-eye coordination, keen pitch recognition and good control of the strike zone as he struck out just 12.6% of the time in double-A. He had a reasonable walk rate at 7.7% but he should improve as he matures as a hitter.

He has a plus arm and threw out 32 percent of base runners in Double-A because of his improved transfer and his 1.9-second pop times.

Weaknesses:

His overall demeanor may throw off old school baseball purists who might mistake his youth and confidence for arrogance. Between innings, he’ll some times dance in his catching squat and joke with umpires. Because of this some may question his intensity.

When it comes to his hitting, he’ll get taller during his load and create top spin, not back spin on hard hit balls. His defensive ability is not as good as Romine’s. While throwing to second base he’ll drop his elbow, stand straight up and not fire out. He’ll strong arm the ball when he does keep his elbow up and his wind up is long and he won’t always throw from his ear. The Yankees have worked with him on this and he has improved.

His current catching ability is way behind his offensive game. His thick build doesn’t provide much agility and he doesn’t have good foot work. He’ll most likely grow more which would most likely mean a move to first base, third base or a corner outfield spot.
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The future and my take:

Jesus Montero will start 2010 as one of the youngest players in Triple-A. Mark Teixeira is signed through 2016. The Yankees will give him every chance to become a starting catcher. He could move to either first base or third base at some point but his value receives an enormous boost should he remain at catcher. If he moves to third base, it is unknown if he has the footwork to play there. If he moves to first base, his value would be closer to average. The difference between an elite catcher and an elite first baseman is usually between 100 and 130 points in OPS. Offensively, an elite offensive catcher is like the equivalent to an average first base man.

If he’s not a good defensive catcher I don’t see why the Yankees are keeping him there but there’s no room for him at first base or third base. It’s possible he could be in a block buster trade for a starting pitcher in the future.

He’ll start for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in 2010 and he’s currently with the Yankees in extended spring training.

Scouting Report
Power:	80
Batting:	90
Speed:	7
Contact:	84
Patience:	45

Jesus Montero batting practice video:

Video from Mike Ashmore’s Thunder’s Thoughts youtube page.

Fan Graphs did a good article on his potential..
WAR’s Favorite Position – Fan graphs.

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