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By Andrew McClure The Northern Division may have been defeated, 5-3, in the 2009 Eastern League All-Star Game at Trenton’s Waterfront Park, but Trenton’s Jesus Montero continued his fast track to Yankee Stadium with a strong showing in the game.
 The 19-year-old catcher, who was added to the roster when the league’s leading hitter, Binghamton’s Josh Tholes, sustained an injury, was 2-for-2 at the plate. Montero is batting .295 with five homers and 17 RBI since being promoted to Double-A in early June.
Despite playing just 30 games with the Thunder, Montero, who was recently named the third-best prospect by Baseball America, was exited to play in the All-Star Game. “Things are just unbelievable right now for me,” Montero said. “Everyone here wants to be in the big leagues. It’s amazing how things are going for me and my family.” Montero also played in the 11th Annual All-Star Futures Game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It was the second consecutive season Montero was selected to play in the game, which features baseball's best minor-league prospects. Montero was signed by the Yankees in 2006 at the age of 16. He began this season at Single-A Tampa where he hit .356 with eight home runs and 37 RBI. He has adjusted well after a slow start in Trenton. At the time of his promotion, he was leading the Florida State League in hitting, extra-base hits (24), slugging percentage (.583), was fourth in on-base percentage (.406), tied for second in doubles (15), tied for third in home runs, and tied for third in RBI. “I’m trying to improve my game every day,” Montero said. “I’m really focused and working hard. I just have to stay relaxed. Everybody wants to be in the majors. I’ve been working my hardest to get there. It’s definitely where I want to be.”  When Montero was drafted by the Yankees, there was little doubt that the 6-foot-4 catcher from Venezuela would have the bat to compete at the highest level. However, there was plenty of skepticism about his ability behind the plate. He’s surprising a lot of folks with his defense, including Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.
“I believe he’ll be a big-league catcher more and more every day,” Cashman said. “When we drafted him, there was fair scrutiny about his catching ability. He’s proving, without a doubt, that he has a chance to be a catcher in the major leagues. The organization has always been excited about what he could do with the bat, but the fact that he has a chance to remain behind the plate; that’s a whole different animal. It’s exciting stuff.”  Since his arrival in Yankees camp in 2007, Montero has steadily improved defensively, while putting up outstanding numbers at the plate. He hit .326 with 17 homers and 87 RBI in 132 games with Class A Charleston in 2008. Behind the plate, he was nearly flawless. Montero led all South Atlantic League catchers with a .993 fielding percentage, making just four errors in 588 total chances. Following the 2008 season, he was named by Baseball America as the second-best prospect in the Yankees system.
Cashman is thrilled about the depth in catching the Yankees have at the minor-league level. “The more the merrier,” Cashman said. “We’re much stronger after what Francisco Cervelli did while he was up with the big club. If you're here playing for Trenton, and you played alongside Cervelli before we called him up, you have to be feeling pretty confident. His success in the majors will have an impact on the confidence of guys like Eduardo Nunez, Montero and the others. We think there are other big league players on the Thunder roster.” |
