Could Mark Montgomery be the next big
thing to come out of the Yankee farm system? The Yankees management certainly hopes
so, as Montgomery has been turning heads lately. Not to mention the fact that
with all the injuries hitting the team now, every bit of talent helps. For
those that do not know, the Yankees drafted this 22-year old kid in the 2011 Amateur
draft, and he is already being compared to David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain. He has a really nasty slider, and fastball that hits the low 90s
to complement it.
Despite having pitched only 2
years in the minors, his numbers so far are outstanding. In his 92+ innings over
72 games at various levels of the minors, he has allowed only one home run. In
2012, he pitched in the Florida State League and Eastern League, and he has demonstrated
excellent control. Over that time, he has a WHIP of .886 (.780 if you take out
intentional walks) and 3.1 walks per nine innings (2.7 without the intentional
walks). Translation - he does not allow many base runners, and he does not give
out free passes. Then there is that slider. He has been able to get that over
for strikes, and making batters miss it a lot. In his current minor league
career, as of this writing, he is recording 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Not
surprisingly, in 2012, his ERA was 1.54 and he only had two losses recorded
against him.
Granted the minor league stats
are not always good indicators of success at the major league level, as the
caliber of hitting goes way up. However, let's compare those numbers to Joba
Chamberlain's in 2007 when he went through the same leagues. His WHIP was
1.008, he recorded 2.8 walks per 9 innings, and 13.8 strikeouts per 9 innings.
While Chamberlain gave out walks at a lower rate, he allowed more base runners
than Montgomery has. Joba's ERA of 2.45 is almost a full run higher. That is
not to say that his number looks bad, it is just to illustrate how good
Montgomery has been. Joba's strikeout rate of 13.8 over nine innings is a
little lower, which would indicate the Montgomery has a higher propensity to
strike a guy out. When you are looking for a pitcher to close out a game, or
get the team out of a tight spot, this guy could prove to be worth his weight
in gold.
I compare him to Joba because the
Yankees brought up Joba in the middle of his first year in the minors. The team
thought that highly of him. When he made it up, he was tremendous, and he lit
up opposing batters and created excitement in the Yankee bullpen. However, they
were very careful with him, and they should have been wiser in managing him in
his second year. It makes sense that the Yankees have their eye on him, and it would
not surprise any of us if he made an appearance somewhere late in the summer.
If the Yankees are careful and take care of him, this kid could pay huge
dividends. Personally, I cannot wait to see what he can do in the majors.
--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.
--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row
Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.
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