Indians Top 100 Prospects: #57 Lucas Montero ~ Indians Prospect Insider

Monday, February 2, 2009

Indians Top 100 Prospects: #57 Lucas Montero

12:05 AM Tony No comments

57. Lucas Montero - Outfielder
Born: 10/18/1984 - Height: 5'11" - Weight: 180 - Bats: Switch - Throws: Right

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2005	20	DSL Indians	R	60	204	42	66	10	5	2	23	34	37	31	.324	.427	.451	.878
2006	21	GCL Indians	R	45	171	35	45	7	2	6	26	18	32	23	.263	.349	.433	.782
	21	Mahoning Vy	A-	6	17	0	4	0	0	0	1	1	3	0	.235	.278	.235	.513
2007	22	Mahoning Vy	A-	34	111	13	28	5	4	1	11	9	20	6	.252	.308	.396	.704
	22	Lake County	A	3	12	1	4	1	0	0	1	1	2	0	.333	.385	.417	.802
2008	23	Lake County	A	83	273	53	72	10	2	8	36	41	56	47	.264	.370	.403	.773
	23	Kinston	A+	32	134	26	33	3	1	1	13	17	20	13	.246	.331	.306	.637
		Career		263	922	170	252	36	14	18	111	121	170	120	.273	.365	.401	.766

History: Montero was signed in January 2004 as an undrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic.

Strengths & Opportunities: After a disappointing season in 2007 where he only played in 37 combined games at Single-A Lake County and Mahoning Valley because of various injuries, Montero bounced back last year with a very good season. He is very athletic, but is very raw still as a baseball player since he did not start playing baseball until he was 15-years old. He is a versatile outfielder who can play all three outfield positions, and has a nice speed/power combo at the plate and on the bases. He is really strong for his size, and has a lot of pop off his bat and can drive the ball. He has an aggressive approach at the plate, and is at his best once he gets on base where his plus speed is a nuisance to pitchers where his skills and tools as a runner shine.

Montero needs to do a little better job of slowing things down at the plate so he can work on getting on-base more consistently. He also has a tendency to lose control of his swing and swing wildly at balls out of the zone. The Indians would also like to see him improve his defense as his speed covers up a lot of mistakes, but he has to become better at his route running to balls and getting better jumps. He made some good strides in this area late last season, and he also began to show a much stronger throwing arm than in previous seasons.

Outlook: Montero projects as a fourth outfielder down the road, and would fit that role well with his awesome speed, versatility, pop in his bat, and his ability to switch hit. He should open the 2009 season as one of the starting outfielders at advanced Single-A Kinston, but given his age and some experience in Kinston last year has a decent shot of opening the season at Double-A Akron.