Jesus

Montero

According to the El Extrabase report, Montero was involved in a serious traffic accident earlier this month and passed away after being hospitalized for several days. He was 35 years old. One of the premier catching prospects in baseball, Montero broke into the majors with the Yankees in 2011 and was later traded to the Mariners as the centerpiece of the Michael Pineda deal the following offseason. He went on to spend four seasons with Seattle. Our thoughts are with Montero’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.

Montero, 16, was regarded as perhaps the top player eligible to be signed out of Latin America this year. To win the bidding, the Yankees gave him a bonus in the $2 million-$2.2 million range. He’s reported to have terrific power potential, but he probably won’t be able to stay behind a plate. First base could be his future home.

Cervelli was symptom-free for the past three days as of Monday, but is apparently still having issues. “I’m not sure we’re going to get him back,” said Girardi. If Cervelli is unable to return, look for both Jorge Posada and Jesus Montero to make the postseason roster.

That’s certainly no surprise, as Montero has stepped up with a .346/.414/.635 batting line with four homers and 12 RBI in 15 games this month. He’s been the primary designated hitter against left-handed pitching and could serve as the second catcher behind Russell Martin if Francisco Cervelli (concussion) isn’t ready to play. That job will probably fall on Austin Romine, though.

Montero had an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning, a two-run double in the third and an impressive opposite-field solo blast in the sixth. The 21-year-old is now batting .346 with four homers, three doubles, 12 RBI and a 16/5 K/BB ratio over his first 52 at-bats in the big leagues. He should make the postseason roster as the primary designated hitter against left-handed pitching.

As expected. Posada finished the season with a disappointing .235/.315/.398 batting line, but he had 14 homers and an .814 OPS against right-handed pitching. There’s little doubt that he can still be a weapon. The Tigers don’t have any left-handed starters, so we will likely only see Jesus Montero late in games.

He’ll bat seventh against Justin Verlander. The Tigers won’t throw any left-handed starters, so we don’t figure to see a lot of Jesus Montero at designated hitter, aside from late-game pinch-hit appearances.

Montero played in 127 total games this year between the minors and majors, and caught nine innings in most of them. While the Yankees would like him to get more work before officially committing to him as a regular for 2012, there’s no point in putting his body through the ringer.

Montero’s third-inning bomb off of Travis Wood was his only hit in five trips to the plate, but he’s still batting a respectable .286 this spring. Although he’ll be playing in one of the league’s toughest ballparks and will be limited to utility eligibility in many leagues to start off the year, Montero shouldn’t go undrafted in any format.

While the top of Seattle’s lineup shone brightly on day one of the regular season, the middle of the batting order did not fare as well. Newcomer Jesus Montero also went 0-for-4 with three runners left on base, while Matt Carp went 0-for-4 while stranding only one runner. Averaging 24 years of age, these young big hitters are important ingredients to Seattle’s hopes for playoff contention in 2012.