ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Jesus Montero is on his way to the big leagues.
After catching all 14 innings of Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s 4-1 win at Lehigh Valley Tuesday night, the Yankees’ top prospect wasn’t with the team yesterday, and was already on his way to join the team in Boston ahead of today’s expansion to 40-man rosters around baseball.
The 21-year-old catcher is hitting .288 with 18 homers and 67 RBIs this season for SWB this year, his second with the Yankees’ top minor league affiliate. But he has been on fire in August, hitting .308 (28-for-91) with eight homers and 17 RBIs.
“This kid’s worked his butt off,” SWB manager Dave Miley said. “He got out of the gate slowly last year, and then got out of the gate slowly again this year power-wise. And then he did exactly what he did last year — he continued to work and got better.”
Miley also applauded Montero’s ability to withstand criticism, which he has heard plenty of over the last couple [of] years — specifically for his defense.
“There are a lot of veteran guys that have played in this league for a lot of years that struggle at times,” Miley said. “I think sometimes that does get lost, and, again, he deserves a lot of credit for how hard he’s worked.
“Again, he’s a young kid, and he was even younger when he got here. He’s worked hard, he really has.”
Montero likely will get a chance to get some at-bats as the Yankees’ designated hitter in September. If he has a strong month, it could put him in contention for a spot on the Yankees’ postseason roster.
Miley certainly isn’t putting it past Montero to make that decision a difficult one for the Yankees.
“I think he’s capable of doing a lot of things in the game of baseball,” Miley said. “After watching him over the last two years, watching the strides and the steps he’s taken, there’s no telling what he can do.”