By dominating at a rapid succession of minor league levels, Double-A right-hander Rafael Montero is earning consideration for the future Mets rotation, cherished in the Flushing dreamscape, that typically begins: Harvey, Wheeler, Niese …
Montero, 22, has less than two full seasons of pro ball under his belt since he was signed out of remote Higuerito, Dominican Republic — a town that never has produced a big leaguer — in January 2011 at the advanced age of 20.
The 6-foot, 170-pounder (a Pedro Martinez-like frame that doesn’t fill the typical power righty mold) made four stops that year culminating in a two-game cameo with the Brooklyn Cyclones. He was named the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year for 2012 — over the likes of Zack Wheeler — after blowing through the low-A South Atlantic League and high-A Florida State League en route to his innings limit (combined 2.36 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 122 innings).
Cameo appearances in major league spring training put him squarely on the radar, and he stoked the enthusiasm in fan circles with his first two starts as Double-A Binghamton’s ace: 11 2/3 innings pitched, eight hits, two earned runs, 15 strikeouts and — best of all — zero walks.
That impressive command, judged the best in the Mets’ system by Baseball America, as much as any pitch in a repertoire of low-to-mid-90s-fastball, changeup and slider, has Montero on what passes for a fast track in general manager Sandy Alderson’s patient development regime. The ongoing refinement of his off-speed pitches will be the bellwether.
Montero’s stifling of Akron in the Eastern League opener on April 4, when he retired 15 straight — including eight punchouts — between a two-out single in the first and a two-out single in the sixth, was a prime example of the upside.
“Once he got into a rhythm and found his arm slot, he just dominated us,” said Greg Hibbard, pitching coach for Akron, an Indians affiliate. “Good command, good fastball — 94 [mph] high, 92 average. … From a developmental standpoint, the changeup — that’s probably the third-best pitch — needs a little work. For righties, that’s often the last thing to come along.”
Despite the late start, Montero now is the youngest pitcher at the team’s top two farm levels, five months Wheeler’s junior.
Should Alderson unspool yet another trade in his refurbishing of the Mets major league roster and dip into his supply of attractive minor league right-handed pitching to do so — for an outfielder, goes the conventional wisdom — Montero’s progress continuing at this accelerated pace would make him a chip or a reason to feel secure with what’s left behind.