Elehuris Montero was once an MLB top prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, but now he's rising up fantasy baseball rankings with the Colorado Rockies. After four call-ups to the major leagues this season, Montero is red-hot at the plate and may be here to stay. The rookie has forced Rockies management to give him regular playing time even with veterans manning the corners on Colorado's roster. Is he now an everyday player for the Rockies? Is Montero a top fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup for us? What are some realistic MLB projections and expectations rest-of-season? Is he worth adding onto your rosters if you have players on the current MLB injury report? These questions come at a perfect time since it is “Third Base Day” in the Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight series. Every Thursday I break down a different MLB third baseman for your fantasy baseball lineups. Some weeks it is a prospect and others it may be a “Sell High” or “Buy Low” candidate in fantasy baseball trades. Today, I am going to dig into Elehuris Montero as a top prospect in the Rockies organization. We'll determine if he's worth a fantasy baseball waiver wire pickup or if we should take a more wait-and-see approach.

 

 

Elehuris Montero Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight

Montero signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a 16-year-old in 2014 as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic. In 2018 at Peoria, he was named Midwest League MVP while becoming the first player in the St. Louis organization to claim that distinction since Albert Pujols in 2000. Montero tore up the league with a .322/.381/.529 slash and a .910 OPS to go along with 15 home runs and 69 RBI. More impressive was a 157 wRC+, which led MLB.com to name him the fifth-best prospect in the Cardinals organization. This was also the same year that the Cards drafted another infielder, Nolan Gorman, in the first round (19th overall) of the MLB Draft.

A bright future went dim very quickly the next year when he missed most of the 2019 season with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. His stats that season also look vastly different than his breakout 2018 numbers. Check out the difference in Montero's splits from 2018 to 2019 while in the Cardinals' organization, per Baseball Reference.

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Then, Montero's 2020 season was cancelled after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. These two lost seasons in a row resulted in Montero becoming an afterthought in the Cards' farm system Suddenly, he dropped off all the prospect rankings lists due to nearly two full years of no statistics for the third baseman.

Then came “The Trade."  In February of last year, Montero was one of the five unheralded names that were part of the package sent to the Colorado Rockies in the trade of third baseman Nolan Arenado. Could Montero regain his form from before the injury? Or did Colorado just trade a generational franchise player and fan favorite for a washed-up prospect?

Montero, though, was considered the prospect with the highest ceiling in that Arenado trade. As soon as the 2021 season, he caught fire and hasn’t looked back. Montero hit 22 home runs with a .278 batting average and 69 RBI in 92 games for Double-A Hartford last year. The questions surrounding his ability soon stopped and by September, he was promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque. Once there, Montero much promise with a slash line of .278/.355/.546 and a 119 wRC+ while striking out only 16% of the time to end the 2021 season.

Montero, now the Rockies' No. 6 prospect and Baseball America’s No. 99 prospect , didn't see much game action during his first three stints with the Rockies since debuting on May 1. He may now, though, be here to stay. Montero has caught fire in The Show after three previous call-ups from Albuquerque, where he was slashing .310/.392.541 with a .933 OPS, 15 homers, and 54 RBI in 65 games.

Check out his impressive minor league stats at Double-A and Triple from 2021 and 2022. 

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Montero is currently on a nine-game hit streak and is hitting 13-for-30 (.433) with only nine strikeouts in his latest recall to the majors. He is not chasing balls out of the strike zone, is showing strike zone awareness, plus he's learning to time up major league level breaking balls. Montero had two singles on Wednesday night for his fifth multi-hit game in a row, tying the longest streak by a rookie in Rockies history. He has started all eight games since the latest recall, even though the team has veterans on the corners in C.J. Cron and Ryan McMahon. 

The Rockies have committed to giving him a real chance to show his abilities over the next two months. He has played every day at either first base, third base, or designated hitter.

Elehuris Montero is rostered in less than 15% of most season-long fantasy baseball leagues. We have a player that has been handed the keys to the car for the next two months to see what he can do at the major league level. Plus, the Rockies' corner infielder has the benefit of hitting at Coors Field. This is a win-win situation for managers. We may be looking at the top waiver wire pickup of the second half of the 2022 season, when it’s all said and done. 

 


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