By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Photo courtesy Mark Harrell
The framed photos of his father’s playing days in the Philadelphia Phillies farm system sat on display for years back at his family’s home in the Dominican Republic. And, of course, they tell a story of a time gone by, of a baseball career that fell just short of the big leagues.
A sad tale? Not for St. Louis Cardinals prospect hitter and third baseman Elehuris Montero, now with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals.
Instead, the photos inspire.
“He got up to Triple-A, and I would always go with him to the park all the time in the D.R.,” a smiling Montero said recently through an interpreter.
Montero obviously would like to make the family name an even bigger one and certainly seems on his way, given he created quite the racket last summer in A ball with, well, his racket and recently arrived to Springfield as one of those guys who turns heads his way.
Which is understandable. Not only is he 20 years old, but he’s got the physique that, if he was in college, the coach would want him to be the first guy off the bus, just to intimidate the other team.
As one National League scout said, “He’s got a super-strong, man-child body – everything you’re looking for.”
You see, Montero is a 6-foot-3, nearly 200-pound presence, which helps explain why last year he earned MVP honors of the low Class A Midwest League – the first Cardinals prospect to do so since some guy named Albert Pujols in 2000. Montero? He led the circuit in average (.322), slugging (.529) and OPS (.910). Of his 123 hits, 15 went for home runs and 28 went for doubles.
That overall led to Montero landing at No. 5 among Baseball America’s Top 30 Cardinals prospects ahead of this season.
“He’s got size and strength and ability and good actions at third base,” said Springfield manager Joe Kruzel, who was just getting warmed up.
But more on that later.
Rocket route
The intrigue of the Texas League – one of three Double-A circuits – is its concentration of some of the game’s elite prospects and its reality as the make-or-break level for just about all. Prospects promoted through the A-ball levels regardless of struggles typically aren’t climbing past Double-A if they don’t show promise.
So here is Montero, just a few years after he signed for a reported $300,000. He was 16 then and now, at 20 years and eight months, is the fifth-youngest player in the Texas League – and among the 10 youngest in all of Double-A baseball.
“It’s very significant because last year I started last year in low A, so I am very honored to be in Double-A,” Montero said. “It’s a big step because you are so close to getting to what your dream is – getting to the big leagues.”
Currently, the batting average is nothing special in April – he is batting .200 through 70 at-bats as of Thursday – yet there have been flashes.
In the Cardinals’ recent homestand, Montero turned around a fastball and planted it on the center field wall – the thump heard clear back into the press box of Hammons Field. Then, on April 14, his two-run double in the 11th inning won a game.
What may help keep Montero from sinking into frustration is this past spring. He was invited to the Cardinals STEP camp, a course for top prospects to learn valuable aspects for on and off the field. Additionally, he found mentors in big-leaguers Alex Reyes and Yairo Munoz as he played in several big-league spring training games.
“I was very excited when I was told I coming here. I want to give 100 percent,” Montero said. “(Reyes and Munoz) said to always give 100 percent and not let yourself go, you have to take care of yourself. There is always someone watching.”
For Montero, he took mental notes along the way in camp.
“Seeing them and seeing what they do was important,” Montero said. “Seeing them perform and work is something I really took in. I watched their approach to everything they did. They were very prepared. They visualized everything before it happened.”
The road ahead
Kruzel and scouts can’t say enough about Montero.
“For the type of hitter he is, he already has some awareness of the strike zone,” Kruzel said. “It’ll be important for him to stay through the middle and hit to the right-center gap with authority.”
A NL scout likes a lot of what he sees so far, too.
“He’s aggressive,” the scout said. “And guys these days don’t give a crap if they swing and miss as much. He’s got tremendous power. But he has some trouble on breaking balls and plate discipline and recognizing pitches. But that will come with 400 at-bats. The good ones figure it out, and I think he will.”
Given Montero’s size, can he stay at third base? Agility is one area he is working on.
“For me, he’s going to have to clean up his defense,” said the scout, who saw Montero last year in the Midwest League and is simply curious to see an improvement in his agility. “I like the guy a lot.”
