Detroit Tigers: What to Expect from Keider Montero

Keider Montero has been promoted to the Detroit Tigers

According to  Tigers Torkmoil on Twitter, and later confirmed by his own Instagram page, Detroit Tigers prospect Keider Montero is being promoted to the big leagues. The Detroit Tigers finally confirmed the move on Wednesday morning.

This promotion doesn’t involve quite as much speculation as the Wenceel Perez move, which broke before the public knew Andy Ibáñez was heading to the Injured List. No, this is simply Montero serving as the 27th man for Wednesday’s doubleheader with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Still, it’s interesting the Tigers are giving someone else a chance.

They went with Matt Manning for their first three doubleheaders of the year. But perhaps his last two turns in the rotation left them wanting. Or, maybe it’s just because Manning hasn’t pitched anywhere since May 19th.

In any event, let’s learn a little bit more about Keider Montero before his MLB debut.

Keider Montero’s Background

Keider Montero was originally signed by the Detroit Tigers in August 2016, a month after he turned 16. He was born in Santa Teresa del Tuy, Venezuela, the same home town as former Tigers pitcher Felipe Lira.

Montero was not considered one of the bigger names among the 2016 international crop. He spent his first two professional seasons in the relative obscurity of the Dominican Summer League, splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen.

He came to the United States in 2019, pitching in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League and at short-season A-ball in Connecticut. And it was then when his name first popped up on prospect radars. His numbers were impressive — a 2.08 ERA over 10 starts, with 49 strikeouts in 47.2 innings. But there were also rumblings of a 3,000 RPM breaking ball, which piqued the interest of the analytically inclined.

Then COVID killed the 2020 season. But the Detroit Tigers believed in Keider Montero enough to jump him over Low-A and send him directly to High-A West Michigan in 2021. His strikeout and walk numbers there were strong, but he struggled to a 5.28 ERA that year, allowing 84 hits in just over 61 innings.

Montero returned to the Whitecaps in 2022, and we were on hand when he got the nod as their opening day starter. Unfortunately he took a comebacker to the foot and had to leave the game.

Here’s Keider Montero’s outing from Tuesday. He saw just six batters before leaving with an injury. FB was 93-97 in the first. Scattered command, but a few swings and misses when he elevated. Breaking ball was 82-85. Threw a couple good ones. Probable reliever down the road. pic.twitter.com/WdA8lj6KU6

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 14, 2022

Progress was slow for Montero in 2022. He finished the season with a 4.51 ERA, but there were some good signs. He cut down on the hits allowed, kept his strikeout and walk rates steady, and topped the 100-inning mark for the first time.

Last year Montero truly broke out as a prospect, though the surface-level stats don’t necessarily reflect that. He again returned to the High-A Midwest League, but was bumped to Double-A Erie after four dominant starts. His first seven outings with the SeaWolves were pretty ugly, with a 7.86 ERA over 26.1 innings. But then he was terrific, going 7-0 with a 3.14 ERA over his next eight starts.

Montero moved up to Toledo, his third level of the season, and again saw an early bumpy patch. He allowed 12 earned runs in his first 15 innings, but then pitched to a 3.67 ERA over his final five starts. He finished the year with a 4.66 ERA, but he led the system with 160 strikeouts in 127.1 innings. Vice President and Assistant GM Ryan Garko attributed Montero’s breakout in part to the fact the Tigers translated their scouting reports and player plan into Spanish.

The Tigers added Montero to their 40-man roster last November, and he returned to Triple-A to begin the 2024 season. He was stellar in his first three outings, tossing 12 scoreless frames and allowing just five hits. Things have been a bit bumpier since, with Montero failing to complete five innings in any outing. But he owns one of the system’s best arms, and he is as deserving of an MLB start as anyone in the system.

Keider Montero Scouting Report

You can read our full scouting report on Montero, but here’s a quick summation.

He has a true starter’s arsenal, with a fastball that averages 95 mph and will get as high as 98. His best pitch is his mid-80s slider, which is running a 39% whiff rate in Triple-A this year. He also throws a high-spin curve in the 78-82 mph range, and has a quality mid-80s changeup. He’s durable, and he holds his velocity deep into his outings.

Montero has cleaned up his mechanics a bit over the past few seasons. It’s a clean, athletic operation, with a slight cross-body delivery that leads him to drift toward first base at finish. He throws a good number of strikes, though it’s more control over command, and he will occasionally lose the zone for a batter or two. He’s an average fielder with a solid pickoff move, though he’s been known to throw the ball away occasionally.

The Trouble With Keider Montero

There has been one fairly consistent issue with Keider Montero throughout his career. He gives up more hits than he should given the quality of his pure stuff. Part of that can be attributed to his command issues. He is usually around the zone, but all of his pitches tend to drift toward the heart of the plate.

The other issue for him seems to be pitch usage. Montero has thrown his fastball about 55% of the time in Triple-A. That’s a bit of an old-school approach, and while it’s a solid pitch for him, it’s not his best offering.

In 2022 and 2023 Montero ran reverse platoon splits, with right-handed batters producing an OPS around .820, while lefties were around .670. This year those numbers have flipped, with lefties batting .340/.436/.547 so far.

We’re dealing with small samples here, but it appears Montero has honed his slider command. He is more consistently locating his slider low and away to right-handed batters, leading to more whiffs. But that seems to have come at the expense of his changeup, which has dropped in usage from 13% last year to 5% this year.

On our most recent podcast Brandon Day of Bless You Boys compared Montero to Reese Olson. That’s a solid comparison, as Olson also struggled in Triple-A before coming to Detroit and reworking his pitch mix. We could see something similar with Montero.

The Verdict

It’s always tough to predict how a pitcher’s first MLB outing will go. Nerves and adrenaline can do strange things to people. We might see Montero implode and fail to make it out of the first inning. We might see him shove for six innings, with fans calling for him to join the rotation permanently.

Our guess is it will land somewhere in between. Montero will likely show us flashes of his plus stuff, but he’ll probably also get himself into trouble a time or two. We’re thinking he’ll finish with a line something like: 3.2IP 5H 3ER 3BB 3K

For more Keider Montero information you can check out Rogelio’s interview with him from last year.

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