YUNIOR MONTERO, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
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Born: August 8, 1993 Height: 6’4″ Weight: 175 Bats: Right Throws: Right Signed: Int’l Free Agent, Pittsburgh Pirates How Acquired: International Free Agent Country: Dominican Republic Agent: N/A |
WTM’S PLAYER PROFILE |
Montero has signed with the Pirates three different times, but ran into identification issues repeatedly. As a result, he pitched in just one game from 2011-13. He was well regarded when the Pirates originally signed him, enough so that he got a six-figure bonus. The identity issues apparently were just related to verification, as Montero’s listed name and birth date have never changed. The 2013 signing date below is the one listed in the team’s media guide; the MiLB free agency date is based on that. Montero’s fastball sits at 91-93 mph with good life and he also has a good slider.
2011 Montero pitched very well in his only appearance. 2012-13 MLB voided the first two contracts Montero signed with the Pirates and he was unable to play. 2014 The Pirates didn’t bring Montero to camp in March, but he opened the 2014 season on the GCL roster. He finally managed to get in some time, pitching entirely in relief, and put up mediocre numbers. It’s possible the long layoff had some effects. 2015 The Pirates sent Montero back to the GCL, even though he was set to turn 22 late in the season. He made three starts and appeared in relief ten times, with largely the same results as the previous year apart from a much higher K rate. 2016 The Pirates sent Montero to Morgantown when its season opened, but after four appearances moved him up to West Virginia. He pitched mostly in relief there, but made three spot starts. Montero struck out a lot of hitters, but also had control problems at times. His ERA suffered from an extremely low strand rate of 52.5%. Despite a low BABIP of .241, his FIP of 3.02 was nearly a run lower than his ERA. He was very tough on right-handed hitters, holding them to a 151/253/279 line. 2017 Montero got off to a spectacular start at Bradenton, striking out 33 of the first 61 batters he faced over nine games. Things went downhill after that, as he struggled to throw strikes and/or the hitters figured out he wasn’t throwing many strikes. He had an ERA of 8.51 from the beginning of May through the end of July, before recovering to pitch well after that. On the season he had a tough time with left-handed hitters, allowing them an OPS of .829. He allowed right-handed hitters an OPS of .662. Montero has had a long road to get as far as he has. He’ll probably go back to Bradenton in 2018. He’s eligible for the Rule 5 draft now. |
CONTRACT INFORMATION
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2018: Minor League Contract |
PLAYER INFORMATION
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Signing Bonus: $185,000 MiLB Debut: 2011 MLB Debut: N/A MiLB FA Eligible: 2019 MLB FA Eligible: N/A Rule 5 Eligible: Eligible Added to 40-Man: N/A Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
TRANSACTIONS
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July 3, 2013: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent. |