Mariners are wasting one of their best prospects (and trade chips) at Double-A

Last week we expressed some healthy skepticism towards Lazaro Montes, even after a homer-fueled May. And while we remain on the fence, he's sticking it to us with an explosive start to June. In the process, we can't help but think it's past time for the Mariners to move him up to Triple-A Tacoma.

Critics wondered what to expect from Montes ahead of the 2026 campaign, after a subpar return last season in his first exposure to Double-A ball. Well, he provided the ideal response last month as he hit nine home runs in 26 games, on the way to a .800 OPS and 116 wRC+. And he's followed this up in June with another five bombs in six games for Arkansas.

Clearly the 21-year-old isn't going to maintain his current level of productivity in June, which includes an eye-popping 1.040 slugging percentage, 1.523 OPS and 281 wRC+. (Not that we'd have any issue being proven wrong.) However, he's now played 119 games at Double-A, one more than in High-A. It's time to get him to Tacoma, with the added incentive that this is his Rule 5 protection year.

Truly, the promotion can't come soon enough. We're not sure how much more Montes can build his trade value in Double-A, whereas he can absolutely boost it in Triple-A. The Mariners might as well take the chance, with other top prospects such as Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan understandably off-limits to being moved.

Necessary high risk-reward gamble moving Lazaro Montes up to Triple-A

As for Montes potentially being exposed, a large part of this comes down to finding out what the Mariners have in him. At the moment his profile is still more "power only" than "power first". Sure he has a strong arm, but his lack of speed and overall defensive skills don't exactly help the cause.

Not that there won't be teams interested in a player who currently projects as a DH-type. Especially if Montes turns out to be anywhere near as good as Yordan Alvarez, who he's been compared to regularly and and has admitted he models his game after. Again though, it's going to be a risk whenever he gets sent to Tacoma, albeit a necessary one.

One thing which has been really intriguing about Montes' productivity this season, is the insane difference in his success at home compared to on the road, with a .515 OPS and three home runs at Dickey-Stephens Park versus a 1.206 OPS and 14 homers on his travels. This tracks with what we know about Arkansas' home ball-park, but makes you wonder how he'll do at Cheney Stadium, which itself is renowned as being pitcher-friendly.

Overall, there's plenty of love for Montes within the national baseball media. MLB Pipeline ranks him as their No. 27 prospect, Baseball America places him at No. 57 and ESPN earmarked him as a riser to know in their June update. Now though, it's time to see how his power bat handles itself against stronger competition.

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