In terms of power, there is no one in the Mariners’ system who stood out more than Lazaro Montes. Arguably one of the top five prospects in the Seattle farm, Montes was officially promoted to the Majors on September 1.
A Look at Montes
Between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Lazaro Montes hit a career-high 38 home runs. But while that is, without a doubt, an impressive number, it’s been far from a linear road to the Majors for Lazaro Montes.
Now 21 years old, Montes began to show what he could do as a 17-year-old in 2022, when he slashed .284/.422/.585 with 10 home runs in the DSL four years ago. One year later, he hit 13 home runs between the ACL and Low-A, with seven of those coming in 33 games with the Modesto Nuts.
From that point onward, Montes was one of the Minors’ most prolific home run hitters. Across two levels in 2024, the Cuban hit 21 home runs and drove in 105 runs over 116 games. Last year, he belted 32 home runs between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas. But despite the loud pop, the jump to Double-A in 2025 proved to be an adjustment period. He slashed .213/.319/.433 (.752 OPS) with Arkansas, including 86 strikeouts over 64 games.
The numbers in Double-A were better the second time around. Montes hit 25 home runs over 79 games, which was still good for the sixth-most in the Texas League as of writing. He was promoted to Triple-A Tacoma in July and didn’t stop hitting. In what is generally a hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Montes slashed .274/.369/.571 with 13 home runs and 26 extra-base hits across 44 contests.
In terms of power, the correct adjective to describe what Montes has would be monstrous. It’s just easy, effortless power, all wrapped up in his 6’5” build.
What also works in Montes’ favor is the fact that he doesn’t expand outside of the strike zone on fastballs. He also did a relatively good job of laying off the outside curveball and sweeper in Tacoma.
What is the most notable concern here is how much contact Montes will make at the big-league level. For power hitters, the expectation is that the swing-and-miss rate will be high. And that’s a worthy trade-off, for several reasons. But in Montes’ case, it’s a little bit more complex.
Namely, Montes showed a ton of swing-and-miss across all levels of the Minors — and in-zone Whiff%, to boot. Just in Triple-A alone, his Whiff% on four-seam fastballs was 40%. Which would explain why he had such a high Whiff% across the entire upper-third of the strike zone.
He was more comfortable on low and inside pitches. But at the MLB level, where pitchers will be more willing to dance to try to get hitters off the fastball, it’s a legitimate question as to how well Montes can handle that.
Defensively, Montes is a corner outfielder. A primary right fielder, Montes notched 14 assists back in 2025 and seven this year before the promotion.
The Mariners officially promoted Lazaro Montes on September 1, when the rosters expanded. Montes was not previously on the 40-man roster.
Analysis
A couple of notes here.
One, Montes had to be added to the Mariners’ 40-man roster before the end of November to avoid him being exposed in the Rule 5 Draft. So, in essence, this is Seattle getting ahead of things early. But more importantly, this stretch will provide Montes with the opportunity to audition for a spot on the Mariners’ 2027 roster.
There will be an opportunity for Montes to earn a spot. Taylor Ward, acquired at the deadline, and Randy Arozarena are pending free agents. Arozarena, acquired via trade in 2024, has been a very valuable member of the club over the past two-plus years. But can the club afford to bring him back?
Back to Montes, there are obvious questions that need to be answered. For a team that already has a ton of swing-and-miss on it, Montes is, perhaps, the biggest three-outcome hitter currently on the roster. On the other hand, there’s little doubt he can be a 35-40 home run hitter.
That, alone, made him one of the best prospects in the Seattle system.
Check out more of our MLB coverage, including more on prospects Leo Bernal & Ethan Salas.