Minor League Baseball

Seattle Mariners' Top 100 Prospect to Start Minor League Season at High-A Affiliate

M's outfielder Lazaro Montes will remain in the Pacific Northwest to begin the minor league season, continuing where he finished off in 2024.
Teren Kowatsch|
Seattle Mariners outfielder Lazaro Montes poses for a portrait during media day Feb. 20 at Peoria Sports Complex.
Seattle Mariners outfielder Lazaro Montes poses for a portrait during media day Feb. 20 at Peoria Sports Complex. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Seattle Mariners

Several prospects in the Seattle Mariners elite farm system received a decent amount of experience in the Cactus League this spring.

Lazaro Montes (No. 42 MLB Pipeline, No. 97 Baseball America) was one of those players. He was a non-roster invitee and hit .278 (5-for-18) with five runs, two home runs and seven RBIs.

The 20 year-old Montes played 116 games in 2024 (65 with the Low-A Modesto Nuts, 51 with the High-A Everett AquaSox). He finished the year with a .288 batting average, 21 home runs and 105 RBIs. He won the California League MVP for his time with the Nuts. He was one of just a handful of players to finish the minor league season with more than 100 RBIs.

According to a report from Francys Romero, Montes will return to the Pacific Northwest in Everett to begin 2025.

Despite Montes' solid spring and overall season, it makes sense why Seattle chose to send Montes back to the AquaSox.

In Montes' first full month in Everett in July 2024, he struggled and hit .127 with no home runs and four RBIs. He figured things out and hit .411 with seven homers and 21 RBIs in August.

The Mariners Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers, play at Dickey-Stephens Park, which is considered the worst hitting environment for hitters in the organization's farm system. Montes showed better plate discipline in Cactus League action than he has in the minors, but it makes sense for Seattle to let Montes get his rhythm with the AquaSox before promoting him to Double-A.

Montes is considered to have one of the highest potentials among the team's top 100 prospects, at least physically. He's listed at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds on his player page, but looks taller and bigger in-person.

If Montes picks up where he left off in Everett, it won't be long before he makes his way to Arkansas.

The AquaSox begin their season on April 4.

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Teren Kowatsch
TEREN KOWATSCH

Teren Kowatsch is a staff writer for ''Minor League Baseball on SI'' and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He has been a writer for “On SI’’ for two years and is a graduate of the University of Idaho. You can follow him on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch

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