Mariners' next Yordan Alvarez hits same ridiculous spot with HRs back-to-back nights

We are learning a lot about Lazaro Montes in 2025, with the most recent lesson being that the Seattle Mariners prospect has absolutely zero respect for batter's eyes.

Seriously, this is "you have to see it to believe it" stuff from MLB Pipeline's No. 36 prospect. After homering over the batter's eye at Hillsboro Park on Tuesday, Montes did it again on Wednesday to help lead the Everett AquaSox to victory over the Hillsboro Hops.

If this seems like a rare feat, that's because it is. As relayed by Jesse Borek of MLB.com, the Hops' broadcasting crew noted that this is the first time a player has homered over the batter's eye at the club's home park in back-to-back games.

Lazaro Montes' booming power is just one reason the Mariners need to consider moving him up

We weren't the first to compare Montes to Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, but you can hardly fault us for leaning into the comparison. Indeed, their similarities go beyond the simple fact that both are sizable sluggers from Cuba.

The Mariners know all too well just how dangerous Alvarez's power can be, and Montes is hinting that his will be no less formidable once he reaches the majors. He is co-leading the Northwest League with nine home runs, and he's all alone in the league lead with a .291 ISO.

Just as important are the apparent advancements Montes has made with his approach. He's always going to have some swing and miss in his offensive game, but he's gone from a 0.51 BB/K ratio at High-A in 2024 to a more respectable 0.63 ratio this year.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Montes probably doesn't have a higher ceiling than Alvarez on defense. Alvarez is more of a designated hitter who occasionally moonlights as an outfielder, and such a role may be in Montes' future as well.

If nothing else, though, the other Montes storyline from this week is that he has more of a cannon than he gets credit for:

The question now is when the escalating hype surrounding Montes is going to force the Mariners' hand. He is practically begging for a promotion to Double-A Arkansas, which would put only Triple-A Tacoma between him and the majors.

Montes is still only 20 years old, however, and the Mariners do have more cause to be conservative with him than they did the last time a talented outfielder was tearing through their minor league system. Julio Rodríguez only needed 45 games at High-A, but he had a 1.084 OPS there compared to a more modest .869 OPS for Montes.

He's clearly only getting hotter, however, so it seems fair to expect news of Montes' promotion to come sooner rather than later. And once that happens, he'll be one step closer to a potential promotion to the majors sometime in 2026.