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Opening Time: Jesus Montero, what's the question?

Opening Time: Jesus Montero, what's the question?

Like most old jokes, there’s variability in the retelling. This is how it was explained to me, many years ago, by the estimable professor and renaissance man, Gerry O'Connor.

Graffiti at a restaurant in Cambridge:

Jesus is the answer

(Under that, in different writing) - What’s the question? 

(Under that, in different writing) - Who was the third Alou? 

Is Jesus Montero the answer? Heck, what’s the question?

We talk about post-hype sleepers often in this space, and make no mistake, that tag applies to Montero, Seattle’s wayward slugging prospect. Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus tabbed Montero a Top 10 prospect for three straight years, from 2010-2012. When the Mariners and Yankees made a deal centered around Montero and Michael Pineda in January 2012, no one was sure which side did the right thing. Mostly, we were thrilled to see two gigantic talents moved in the same swap.

Montero was fully expected to be a monster, a batting superstar.

Fast-forward to the current day, and Montero has been a flop for the Mariners, no getting around it. He’s been lost at the plate (.255/.296/.386 over 655 at-bats) and a mess on defense. The idea of him catching was buried long ago. The Ms are hoping Montero can resurrect something as a “batter, only” type of player.

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Montero seemed to find himself this summer in Triple-A, as the dedicated DH for Tacoma. The PCL is an offensive Disneyland, sure, but they don’t hand over .346/.388/.551 slash lines at the airport. He clocked 16 homers in 93 games. He's also shed a ton of weight, which usually helps.

Seattle has put Montero on a recall yo-yo for most of the summer, summoning him a couple of times in July. He’s up for good now, we suppose, because he’s out of options. The Mariners need to figure out who Montero is, and who he isn’t, before the 2016 plans get set into place.

The third Alou (Topps)
The third Alou (Topps)

So far, so good for Montero: he’s off to an 8-for-22 start, with three doubles and a homer. He’s seeing time at first base, at DH, and as a pinch-hitter. It was interesting to see Montero get a start Monday at Coors Field, because the Ms can’t hide him at DH in an NL park. They have to give him a glove, grin and bear it.

I’m going to have some fun with Montero for the rest of the Coors series, and I’ll consider him as a deeper-league play the remainder of the season. Pop isn’t that easy to find in the majors for 2015. Maybe Montero is ready for a post-hype spike, now that his back is to the wall. Sometimes the light goes on, without much warning, with cases like this.

Montero was utility-only in Yahoo until Tuesday morning - he now has a shiny 1B tag attached to his name. He’s still free to add in 98 percent of Yahoo leagues. Meet me on the Coors Field concourse.

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