HOT STOVE PANIC: JESUS MONTERO

Born 11/28/89 in Venezuela, 22 year-old Jesus Montero has a lot going for him. Although he didn’t make his big-league debut with the Yankees until 9/1/11, we were introduced to this tall, lanky kid last year during Spring Training at Steinbrenner Field. With a baby face that reminds me a little of a post-Menudo Ricky Martin, Montero showed us that “He-bangs” the hell out of the ball.
Voted one of the top 50 prospects of the year, Montero did pretty well cutting his chops in the Major League last year. His 2011 batting average was a whopping .328, with an on-base percentage of .406. His post-season at bats weren’t too shabby, either. Although he only had two at-bats, he got himself a base hit and an RBI to add to his already impressive batting record.
Although there was some speculation that Montero was going to be offered up on the block in exchange for pitcher Matt Garza, those hot stove embers seemed to have died out pretty quickly as the dollars and cents just didn’t add up, or make sense, for the trade.But Montero’s heart is as a catcher, and at this point, it looks like Skipper Girardi may be more inclined to keep Montero as a designated hitter before there are any plans to groom him as the Yankees’ next Jorge Posada. No doubt this is a bit of a disappointment to Montero, who has stated that he is a catcher, and he wants to play his position, and be “in the middle of the game”. You almost have to wonder that once the initial excitement of playing in the big show wears off for him, will Montero push the issue about catching or will he be happy in pinstripes contributing his best abilities to the team?In Montero’s case, it would appear that size does matter, at least to some. Montero measures up to be 6 feet, three inches tall, which is pretty big for a catcher.There’s been talk that Montero isn’t as agile behind the plate as they’d like him to be, although he demonstrated improved performance in throwing and pitch-out very late in the season. He is extremely articulate in discussing his commitment to the team and to the game in his off-field interviews, and it’s obvious that this kid is wise beyond his years, a hard worker and a team player. These are the critical characteristics you’ll find in any one of the mega-giants that have ever sat their pinstripes down in the Yankees Clubhouse. At this point, it seems premature to speculate about what role Montero will play for the Yankees when it comes to defensive positioning. However, it would seem likely, from what we’ve seen so far, that he’s here to stay, as the Yankees haven’t lost sight of the fact that this kid is a power-slugger that can add a lot of “bang” to the Yankees offense.

--Christy Lee, BYB Staff Writer



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