Mariners prospect slugs his way to Player of the Week honors after slow start

After his most recent promotion saw a slow and frustrating start in Everett, one of the Mariners' top prospects slugged his way to Player of the Week honors

Minnesota Twins v Seattle Mariners
Minnesota Twins v Seattle Mariners / Brandon Sloter/GettyImages

Let's lay off the Mariners offense for a minute and talk about some of their wonderful prospects. Well, one in particular, at least. It can be funny to listen to people, even some who are respected in the world of baseball, and see how fast they turn on a prospect. The narrative of, "oh, this guy just got promoted and is struggling through his first 100 AB or so, which means he is a failure and he is broken".

There is no mention that the player is from a different country, is still a teenager, or any other reasonings other than 'they suck', essentially. That's what was happening with Lazaro Montes once he was promoted to High-A Everett earlier this season after crushing it in Modesto for the Nuts. Everyone wanted to see instant success from Montes, even though he was a teenager who was moving quickly through the system.

Lazaro Montes just won Player of the Week in Everett.

First 25 games in Everett were bad for Lazaro Montes, as he hit just .182/.293/.242 with three 2B and one HR in 99 AB. He started heating up over the next eight games as he would hit .364/.417/.485 with one 2B and one HR. That all lead to the most recent surge from Montes that showed why so many Mariners fans are enamored with the youngster.

Over his last six games, Montes hit .526/.615/.947 with two 2B and two HR to go along with six BB and seven RBI. That was enough to earn him Minor League Baseball's Player of the Week honors. It's fantastic to see Montes starting to get the hang of the next level of pitching. Still only 19, he is a tad more than three years younger than your average High-A player. If he can finish out the year strong, we could see him in Arkansas early next season.

I don't think the Montes is going to keep hitting like this, because it isn't MLB The Show and that just doesn't happen. If he has figured out how to hit a bit though, he could definitely hit .300 with his normal pop for the rest of the season. He's a borderline top-100 prospect for a reason and is a ton of fun to watch. Congratulations on your Player of the Week win, Lazaro Montes, and best of luck on the rest of your season!