Montero’s 67 games for the Rockies didn’t go so well
Welcome to the 2024 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2024. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
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No. 54, Elehuris Montero: -1.7 rWAR
The numbers look good at first glance: .309/.397/.582, 16 homers, 16 doubles, 52 RBI and 23 runs scored in 65 games. They seem even better when you compare them to .205/.267/.304, four homers, 10 doubles, 28 RBI and 23 runs scored in 67 games.
The first stats are Elehuris Montero’s for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, while the second set is from the 26-year-old’s time with the Colorado Rockies. He was the starting DH on Opening Day and never found his groove. He played 54 games at first base and 12 as DH through the end of June when Montero was designated for assignment. Four days later, he was outrighted to Alburquerque and stayed there through the end of the season.
Montero came to Colorado as part of the Nolan Arenado trade with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021. At the time, he was the No. 7 prospect in the St. Louis farm system. He made his MLB debut on May 1, 2022, but has never performed to expectations. First, he struggled in the field at third base and then retrained as a first baseman after not being able to handle the hot corner.
But his biggest problem in the 2024 season was the same as it’s been in the two before it: Montero hasn’t been able to hit at in the big leagues, despite absolutely crushing it in the minor leagues.
Montero did improve in one important area by dropping his strikeout rate and increasing his walk rate. In 2023, Montero struck out 36.2% of the time, while only walking 4.9% of the time. In 2024, he cut his strikeout rate to 22.7% and increased his walk rate to 8.1%.
Unfortunately for Montero, cutting down on strikeouts also resulted in losing .038 on his average, .023 on his on-base percentage and .122 on his slugging percentage, while also dropping from a 3.6% homer rate in 2023 to 1.6% in 2024.
Montero seemed to be primed for extra time at first base with Kris Bryant plagued by injuries once again. Instead of taking advantage, Montero’s struggles at the plate opened the window of opportunity for Michael Toglia. With more power and better defense, Toglia started at first base on June 18 and started every single game for the Rockies for the rest of the season.
Montero ranked No. 35 after 2023 with a -0.1 rWAR in 2023. He finished last this season and it wasn’t even close (he’s tied with Justin Lawrence, but next is Tanner Gordon at -1.1). Considering the numbers and lack of progression, it seems likely that the Montero era is over in Colorado. Perhaps another franchise or another league could be a better fit for him. If this is the end, Montero will end three seasons with the Rockies hitting .228/.387/.664 with 21 homers, 87 RBI, 40 doubles and 84 runs scored in 205 games.