Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Appears ready for starting job
Rotowire
Montero has gone 16-for-51 with four home runs and two doubles during Cactus League action.
Montero has swung the bat well for much of spring, but that's been particularly true of late. He has tallied four multi-hit performances in his last eight contests, and he has gone deep twice in that span. After Nolan Jones was optioned to Triple-A on Monday, Montero's primary competition for the starting job at third base appears to be Mike Moustakas.
Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Slugs third spring homer
Rotowire
Montero went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's Cactus League contest against the Cubs.
Montero took Justin Steele yard in the second inning to tally his third homer of spring training. He's competing for the third base job and his done well at the plate, ripping four extra-base hits while also maintaining a .385 on-base percentage across 39 plate appearances this spring. The primary question for Montero's playing time will be whether he can prove quick enough to be an adequate fielder at the hot corner.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Looking to improve foot quickness
Rotowire
Montero is focused on improving his defense, and specifically his foot quickness, this spring, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
Montero entered spring training blocked from a starting job, though Brendan Rodgers' shoulder injury has opened a slot along the infield. As a result, Montero will have the chance to start at the hot corner, but he has to prove capable of making the average play defensively. He's shown promise with his bat throughout his minor-league career, though he is off to a slow start this spring with only five hits -- one for extra bases -- across 24 at-bats. Nolan Jones and Mike Moustakas are other candidates to start at third base.
Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Expected to compete for 3B job
Rotowire
Montero is expected to get a chance to compete for the Rockies' third base job with Ryan McMahon moving to second, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
It will be Montero and Nolan Jones duking it out at the hot corner, general manager Bill Schmidt told Sherman. Montero faded late with the Rockies last season but overall held his own in his first stint in the majors with a .702 OPS and six home runs over 53 games. He's out of options, so the 24-year-old will make the Opening Day roster no matter what. Montero would be at a disadvantage in a potential platoon scenario though, as the right-handed hitter to Jones' left-handed bat.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Ends season in slump
Rotowire
Montero went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers.
Montero ended his season with a hitless performance and batted only .150 across his last 12 games. He made his big-league debut in 2022 and maintained a solid .199 ISO, but he also had a .233/.270/.432 line thanks to a 32.4 percent strikeout rate. Montero will be a candidate to earn playing time at the corner infield spots and designated hitter to begin the 2023 campaign.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Homers in loss
Rotowire
Montero went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Wednesday night's loss to the Giants.
Montero came in to replace C.J. Cron in the bottom of the sixth after the latter was hit by a pitch and had to leave the game. The 24-year-old utility man would go on to score the Rockies' only run of the game with a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth. Montero is now hitting .231 in the month of September with just two hits in his last 20 at-bats (.100).
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Slugs fifth homer
Rotowire
Montero went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, a walk and two runs scored Tuesday against the Brewers.
Including Tuesday's game, Montero has started only six of Colorado's last 14 games. However, Brendan Rodgers got the day off, which left an opening for Montero at third base. He took advantage of the opportunity by taking Brandon Woodruff yard in the third inning for his fifth home run of the season. Montero has a .210 ISO and .406 slugging percentage through 129 big-league plate appearances, but he's also struck out at a 34.1 percent clip.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Playing time dwindling
Rotowire
Montero has started only five of Colorado's last 13 games entering Tuesday's matchup against Milwaukee.
Montero appears to be stuck in a short-side platoon role, as four of his five starts in the last 13 games have come against lefties -- replacing either Ryan McMahon or C.J. Cron. Montero has collected 14 extra-base hits in 125 plate appearances in the majors this season, but he's also struck out at a 34.4 percent clip.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Not in Wednesday's lineup
Rotowire
Montero isn't starting Wednesday against Atlanta.
Montero went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI on Tuesday but will be on the bench for the fourth time in the last six games. The rookie looks to be trending toward moving into a part-time role with the arrival of fellow prospects Michael Toglia and Sean Bouchard from Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Sitting in series finale
Rotowire
Montero is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.
Even though he's produced a strong .832 OPS in August, Montero has surprisingly seen a decline in playing time of late. He'll be on the bench for the third time in four games as the Rockies close out their series at Citi Field.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: On bench Friday
Rotowire
Montero is not starting Friday versus the Mets.
Montero will stay on the bench for the second straight contest and third time in the last four games. Charlie Blackmon will remain at designated hitter while Wynton Bernard enters the lineup in center field and bats ninth against New York.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Sitting Thursday
Rotowire
Montero is not in the starting lineup Thursday against the Mets.
Montero will get a breather after he went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Wednesday's loss to the Rangers. Charlie Blackmon will shift to designated hitter while Garrett Hampson enters the lineup in center field and bats ninth in the series opener.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Riding pine Tuesday
Rotowire
Montero is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Rangers, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.
It's always unfortunate when a Rockies regular takes a seat for a home game, and that will be the case with Montero in this one. He is hitting .279/.300/.559 with four home runs, 20 strikeouts and one walk in 18 games this month.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Homers again
Rotowire
Montero went 1-for-5 with a solo home run Sunday against the Giants.
Montero took Jakob Junis yard in the seventh inning and now has three home runs across his last three starts. It's been a mixed start to Montero's big-league career, as he has a strong .206 ISO but is striking out at a 33.3 percent clip. That has resulted in a .245/.267/.451 line across 105 plate appearances.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Two-homer night
Rotowire
Montero went 2-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI in a 7-4 win against the Giants on Friday.
Montero powered his team to victory with the first multi-homer game of his young career. Montero hit 15 home runs in 65 games at Triple-A Albuquerque earlier in 2022, so the power shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Playing his home games at Coors Field could help Montero's bat transition to the major leagues quicker than other hitters his age. The 24-year-old rookie is now slashing .258/.281/.452 in 93 at-bats this season.
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Rockies' Elehuris Montero: Drives in pair
Rotowire
Montero went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI on Friday against the Diamondbacks.
Montero has been in the lineup for 10 consecutive games at a combination of first and third base as well as at designated hitter. He's hit .368 in that span with a home run, six RBI and five runs scored. Though Montero may not have a consistent defensive position, the Rockies appear to be intent on giving him regular playing time down the stretch of the season.
Montero will start at first base and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
Though Montero doesn't have a clear-cut path to a full-time role at any spot, he'll pick up his sixth start in a row Sunday while having moved between first base, third base and designated hitter. Montero has made it tough for manager Bud Black to take him out of the lineup by going 7-for-17 with a home run and three doubles in his five starts since being recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque. The rookie looks like he could continue to get steady run while Kris Bryant (foot) is on the injured list.
