Wednesday, March 31, 2010

A Different Look at Jesus Montero

Interesting post today by Joel Sherman on Jesus Montero, Heavyweight bat boosts Yankees prospect Montero. We hear a lot about how great a hitter he is for his age and how good he can be, but this article points to how hard he is working to improve defensively as a catcher. We all know the quickest way for him to get to the majors is if he proves he can catch in the big leagues. Many think he is too big and gawky to make it as a catcher. He supposedly lacks the footwork and mobility. However, everything I have read indicates he is determined to prove everyone wrong and become a good catcher.Besides describing a little bout with immaturity this off season. Here's an interesting part of the article where Sherman describes what happened on the day Montero was told he was being sent to the minors. They couldn't find him anywhere until:

Finally, he was located in the indoor batting cage down the right-field line. He had set up the pitching machine to fire one ball after another into the ground to practice blocking. There were no coaches, no teammates. The organization's top prospect was alone, motivated only by a desire to improve. So on the way out the major league door -- for now -- Montero had left a positive impression.

"He's hungry," Girardi said."
I would like to hear more discussion like this to go along with the talk about his mammoth home runs. This shows maturity and dedication to becoming a better player. It will be interesting to see him progress. We haven't seen a player with this type of potential since Cano, Soriano and Jeter. How great would it be for him to be ready to step in when Jorge is done. I hope it's really more than just hype.

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