Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo have been promoted to Triple-A Tacoma, with questions still remaining about their future with the Mariners.
It was a good weekend for the Mariners as they clinched the Blue Jays series to complete a 5-1 homestand, go three games above. 500, and take a 1.5 game lead in the AL West. The good news kept coming on Monday, with Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reporting that Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo have been promoted to Triple-A Tacoma.
Montes and Arroyo are the top hitting prospects in the Mariners farm system, ranked by MLB Pipeline at 26th and 43rd respectively in their overall Top 100. Both have enjoyed excellent seasons so far, despite having to play half their games at the notoriously pitcher-friendly Dickey-Stephens Park in Double-A Arkansas.
Lazaro Montes showing why he has won two Hitter of the Year accolades
Montes leads all Mariners prospects with 25 home runs and 66 RBI, with him also slugging .550 with a 919 OPS and 144 wRC+ in 79 games. That he’s having such success is unsurprising, given he’s the two-time reigning Mariners Minor League Hitter of the Year.
Standing at 6-foot-5 and 210 lbs, Montes’ best assets are his power and arm, with him working hard on his conditioning to help his progress. June was his most explosive month yet, as he batted .299 with a 1.199 OPS and 204 wRC+ in 25 games.
This doesn’t mean the 21-year-old can rest on his laurels, with areas of his game still needing work. In particular his 30.4 percent strikeout rate is way too high and alludes to a swing-and-miss mentality, while his overall .234 batting average needs to improve, although in fairness this is somewhat impacted by Dickey-Stephens Park, where he’s hitting .201.
One or both hitting prospects could be trade assets for the Mariners at the deadline
As for Arroyo, he was signed by the Mariners as part of the same international class as Montes in 2022. The Columbia native doesn’t have the build or power of his teammate, but is renowned as an excellent pure hitter.
The 21-year-old has shown good progress in his second season at the Double-A level, batting .287 with a .820 OPS and 125 wRC+ in 65 games. Interestingly, in line with being a tremendous pure hitter, he had more success at Dickey-Stephens Park compared to Montes, batting .287 (with a .805 OPS).
In reality, neither prospect is projected to be strong defensive options, so will need to rely on their respective prowess at the plate in order to make it in the majors. In this respect, it will be interesting to see if their Big League debuts come in Seattle, with the possibility that one or both could be valuable assets as the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaches.
Photos courtesy of Tim Rogers Photography
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