Jordan

Montgomery

Montgomery, who topped out at 91.1 mph tonight, didn’t make much of a case for stepping into the rotation if Jacob deGrom needs a break. He’s surrendered seven runs over six innings in his two appearances since returning from Tommy John.

Montgomery underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2025 and made his way back after several rehab starts in the minors. While he received a lot of love from the fans in his return to the Rangers, the Orioles hitters greeted him rudely, including a two-run homer from Pete Alonso in the fourth and a two-run shot from Tyler O’Neill in the sixth. The veteran southpaw gave up six hits in all while walking one and striking out a pair. He’ll continue to pitch out of the bullpen for now, and there’s no fantasy relevance at this stage.

The 33-year-old southpaw has finally made it all the way back from Tommy John surgery and is ready to help out the Rangers over the final two months of the regular season. It’s unclear if he’ll work as a starter or out of the bullpen initially, either way though fantasy managers should take a wait-and-see approach here as he’s likely to show inconsistency while shaking off the rust following his extended absence.

Schumaker was not clear about the role that Montgomery would have, saying he could work as a starter or reliever. Montgomery has not pitched in an MLB game since 2024, so we’re not expecting tremendous results right away. You can take a wait-and-see approach in fantasy leagues.

Montgomery threw 75 pitches over 4 1/3 innings over the weekend for Triple-A Round Rock, so this next outing should get him up over 80 pitches. The left-hander missed the entire 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and hasn’t pitched in an MLB game in almost two years. He could return to the Rangers’ rotation next weekend, but he is not somebody who needs to be stashed in fantasy given his lengthy absence.

Bradford and Jordan Montgomery, whose Triple-A start was rained out tonight, are both making their way back from elbow surgery with the hopes of taking Cal Quantrill’s spot in the Texas rotation. One will probably get a chance there, with the other winding up in middle relief. Bradford is the more interesting bet at this point, but that he’s plenty experienced in middle relief might hurt his chances of getting the rotation spot.

Montgomery has allowed three runs over nine innings across three starts at the Triple-A level since July 2. The 33-year-old veteran lefty is getting close to making it back from last year’s Tommy John surgery and should be an option for Texas at some point in early August.

Montgomery allowed five hits and struck out three while not walking a single batter. He threw 26 of his 40 pitches for strikes and had a 32 percent whiff rate and 33 percent CSW. He sat 90.7 mph on his sinker, which is down a little over one mph from where we saw him in 2024 and down almost two mph from his great season in 2023. His breaking pitches are also all down in velocity, so this could simply be a veteran who is not letting it loose as he works his way back from a long absence. We should see something closer to full strength for Montgomery in his next few starts as he gets closer to a shot in the Rangers’ rotation. There’s a chance that he’s back by August.

Montgomery allowed one hit and struck out one while throwing 10 of his 13 pitches for strikes. It was the 33-year-old’s first game action since 2024, so it was just nice to see him get through a clean inning. He will need a lengthy rehab stint as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery, but he could make a few starts for the Rangers at the end of the season.

It’s been a while since Montgomery was a fantasy-relevant arm, but he’s making his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery and could be an option for Texas’ rotation at some point in the second half. The 33-year-old southpaw signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract to return to the Rangers back in February. He should be ready to make his season debut by late July.