Watch A's pitcher Frankie Montas crush ball estimated 415 feet off tee

Share

Now that Madison Bumgarner has left the Giants, the throne of the Bay Area's best power-hitting pitcher sits empty.

Enter A's righty Frankie Montas.

Montas tweeted a video of him crushing a ball off the tee in a batting cage. A pan of the camera revealed a corresponding HitTrax simulation indicating the ball would've gone 415 feet and over the left-center field at a place that sure looked like the Giants' Oracle Park.

The A's Twitter account chimed in soon after with an idea.

Could Montas really hack it at the dish? The Dominican pitcher only has seven big league at-bats to his name, on account of playing for an AL team his whole career. But, he also has no hits and five strikeouts to his name and a whopping zero plate appearances in the minors to fall back upon.

We probably won't learn the answer this season. If there is an MLB season in 2020, it will be shortened and teams in the NL and AL reportedly will use designated hitters.

[RELATED: How Gregorious could fit A's if Semien leaves in free agency]

Technically, A's manager Bob Melvin could elect Montas to pitch and hit in lieu of a DH. Bumgarner did both against Oakland in 2016, but he also became the first pitcher in 40 years to hit for himself. One swing off a tee almost assuredly isn't enough to buck decades of conventional wisdom. 

But Montas can dream, right?

Contact Us