Mariners are running out of reasons to keep Lazaro Montes hype train in minors

It was another rough one for the Mariners on Thursday afternoon, as they were shut out for the 11th time this season to tie for most in the majors. While you'd like to think the franchise record of 19 shutouts in a season is safe (set in 2014), the offense is a shadow of what it achieved last year. As far as we're concerned, it's time to give Lazaro Montes his shot in the big leagues.

Ahead of the 50th season anniversary celebrations this weekend, the mood in Seattle can best be described as somber. The Mariners are 56-60 and sitting in third place the AL West, thanks in large part to a lineup which is ranked second-worst in the majors in runs per game. While there's been some pleasant success stories like Dominic Canzone and Cole Young, the mainstays of the team are suffering through career-worst years and helping make a mockery of the positive preseason predictions.

The surreal thing is that despite the disappointing displays on the field, the Mariners are still in realistic contention. Thanks to an overall underwhelming American League, they are just 3.0 games off the division lead and only 1.5 games out of a wild card spot. However, they need to do something to shake things up offensively, which is where Montes comes in.

Lazaro Montes continues to reinforce his power with home runs as high as his ceiling

We've looked at the case for Michael Arroyo getting his shot in the majors, but Montes remains the best power bat and with the highest ceiling in the farm system. He's the Mariners' two-time reigning Minor League Hitter of the Year and this season has seen him take his form to new heights. Thursday night saw him hit his 32nd home run of the season, to tie his career high that he set last year:

What makes this even more impressive is that Montes only had one homer through his first 20 games this season. Overall, he has a .980 OPS and 31 home runs in his last 82 games. And keep in mind this includes a .952 OPS and seven bombs in 23 games since his call-up to Triple-A Tacoma early last month, to prove he can get it done against a higher level of competition.

Helping the case for Montes' call-up to Seattle, he no longer has Luke Raley in his way. In fact Raley has now gone from "probably" being done for the year to officially so, with the updated announcement that he's to undergo season-ending flexor surgery. We're sorry to see this happen given what he achieved earlier in the 2026 campaign, but his loss can now be Montes' gain.

Ride or die for the Mariners versus just letting the kids play

Some will want to make the understandable case that the Mariners aren't in "Let the kids play" territory just yet, not with the playoffs still a realistic possibility. At the same time though, it's fair to at least ask why faith should be maintained in a team which is tied for the worst batting average in the majors and with just 46 games remaining. How realistic is it at this stage to rely on the likes of Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor to suddenly turn it on and look more like last season's respective versions?

There's definitely one scenario in which the playoffs are out of reach and the Mariners work Montes into the roster for September, along with Arroyo and Kade Anderson. Why wait until then, however? Why not get the trio involved earlier somehow, and see if they can inject some life into the M's roster and revitalize their challenge for the division and seeding in the American League?

We appreciate the second scenario is less likely, with the Mariners almost taking a ride or die approach with the current corps for as long as possible. Irrespective, Montes might be the cleanest fit at this rate. Taylor Ward is a newcomer who's going to be a free agent after this season, so the M's might not really have the incentive to play him over Montes if that's the choice.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow