Keider

Montero

Montero came on after top prospect River Ryan tossed three shutout frames in his Tigers debut. He struck out five and only allowed a pair of baserunners, needing just 58 pitches (37 strikes) to complete four frames. He’s likely to factor into Detroit’s pitching plan when they face the Pirates this weekend.

The 28-year-old right-hander has been battling through a hamstring injury over the past couple of weeks and is finally ready to show the Tigers what he can do at the MLB level. He’s only expected to work a few innings in the game and will be piggybacked by Keider Montero, so fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him to have a shot at earning a victory.

Montero struck out four and walked two, and Detroit went on to lose 5-1. He was recently reinstated from the paternity list and crossed 150 innings for the season on Wednesday, far surpassing his previous career high in the majors. Montero has appeared in 31 games (25 starts) for the Tigers this year and lines up to face the Nationals at home next time out.

Montero is on track to start Wednesday’s series finale against the Blue Jays. The 26-year-old was away from the club on paternity leave over the weekend. He’s struggled a bit in recent outings, which makes it challenging to trust him as a viable fantasy option outside of extremely deep mixed leagues.

Montero will be away from the Tigers for a couple days on paternity leave. He allowed two runs over four innings during an abbreviated outing against the Twins earlier this week. There’s a decent chance he finishes the year pitching out of Detroit’s bullpen since he’s pitched beyond the fifth inning just one time in his last four starts.

He came out with a 5-2 lead. Both runs scored on solo homers, but Montero also struggled some with his control while throwing only 39 of 74 pitches for strikes. It’s understandable if his mind was elsewhere, as it sounds like he’ll soon be going on the paternity list. He could start next week against the Blue Jays, but since he seems to have worn down some, it’s also possible he’ll finish out the year in middle relief.

Montero had a 4-0 lead after the top half of the first and a 6-1 lead through three, but he gave up a grand slam as part of a five-run fourth inning and didn’t come back out for the fifth. It’s the first time this season that he’s been charged with six earned runs. He’s due to make his next start Wednesday against the Twins, but given that he’s had some issues bouncing back lately, he might need some extra time.

Montero allowed just one hit over five scoreless innings before giving up a double and a pair of singles to the four batters he faced in the sixth. That tied the game up, but at least Tyler Holton was able to strand both inherited runners after taking over with one out. Montero was pitching on 10 days’ rest after his arm didn’t bounce back per usual following his last start. He was obviously just fine today; his velocity was even up a tad, and he got 16 outs on just 73 pitches. Assuming that all is well after this one, he’ll likely make his next start in a doubleheader versus the Guardians on Friday.

It’s an extremely challenging matchup for Montero, who gets the ball on extra rest against a loaded Dodgers’ lineup at Comerica Park. The 26-year-old has hit a little bit of a rough patch in recent weeks, but has still delivered a solid 3.30 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 89/30 K/BB ratio across 133 2/3 innings this season. It’s absolutely a risky spot, but Montero is worth trusting in deeper fantasy leagues.

Montero will be pitching on extra rest after experiencing some fatigue coming out of his last start against the Pirates last week. It doesn’t sound like there is a high level of concern at the moment.