Christian Montes De Oca is a Name to Watch for the D-backs

This article is a continuation of our series on individual Arizona Diamondbacks player projections, seen here as a composite of ZiPS and Steamer projections. The playing time projections are our own, engineered by Diamondbacks On SI's Jack Sommers.

In this article, we take a look at one of the more under-the-radar relief options, right-hander Christian Montes De Oca.

RHP Christian Montes De Oca, 25

Christian Montes De Oca statistics and 2025 projection | Alex D'Agostino | Diamondbacks On SI

Right-hand reliever Christian Montes De Oca isn't a prominent name in the Diamondbacks' system, but he's one to keep an eye on in the coming seasons.

The tall righty has an above-average grade fastball and slider, with a solid changeup, and recently made the jump from Double-A to Triple-A. There, he somewhat struggled, but with his first full season facing him in Reno, there's plenty of room for growth, and he might even be awarded his first MLB stint in 2025.

Why Montes De Oca might overperform projections

There isn't a great deal known about Montes De Oca. He was a late signee, so at 25 years old, he's not exactly a young prospect. But with that in mind, he rocketed up the minor league system, putting the D-backs' organization on notice.

Despite debuting in Visalia in 2022, Montes De Oca earned the promotion to Triple-A early in 2024, sitting three levels above where he started just two years later.

And it was for good reason. Montes De Oca was a strikeout machine in the lower minors, then posted a 12.46 K/9 in Amarillo before earning the promotion. With his mid-90s fastball and above-average slider, he certainly has the ability to punch out batters.

So, if he does make his MLB debut, there's a chance he might smash the 17.3% K rate. Of course, it's hard to compare minor leaguers to MLB hitters, but, as we've seen with pitching prospects before, opposing hitters might not know what to expect early on, and if Montes De Oca stays within his small sample size of appearances, he might see much better numbers than what's projected here.

Why Montes De Oca might underperform projections

The righty struggled upon the transition to Triple-A. Granted, the PCL is a tough offensive environment. Some of the more pedestrian ERAs are posted by some of the most high-quality arms in that arena.

However, Montes De Oca posted a 5.24 ERA on his promotion to Reno. He also only struck out 7.82 batters per nine, one of the main aspects of his game.

There's also a decent chance he isn't awarded the opportunity to get some major league innings in 2025. Depending on Arizona's injury luck and the performance of some of their younger arms, they may not need to dig that far into the depth bag.

Considering Montes De Oca's struggles with Triple-A hitters, it might be too soon for the 25-year-old to succeed against major league hitting. While his projections are not overly generous, a 4.52 ERA might be a tad ambitious if Montes De Oca truly isn't ready to face the highest level of hitting yet.

Summary

Whether or not the big righty can handle major league hitting this coming season might depend greatly on how he performs in Reno to open the year. While it's almost an impossibility to see him on the Opening Day roster, if he hits his stride quickly, he might move his name up to the top of the list for mid-season call-ups.

Considering he has a solid arsenal with a high strikeout ability, Montes De Oca might come in and take the league by storm in his first several appearances. Of course, he might not, but there's not much data to gather on him at the moment.

For now, he remains an unknown, full of potential.