The Post Catches Up With Montero and Romine

From Tim Bontemps:

FOR the past decade, the Yankees have been fortunate enough to have one of the best offensive catchers in baseball in Jorge Posada. But now that Posada, 37, is entering the latter stages of his career, the Bombers have two catching prospects, Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, fighting for the right to replace him.

"I like those two kids," a scout said. "Those were two of my favorite kids last year in [Low-A] Charleston."

...

"Montero can really swing the bat," the scout said. "He is one of the better young hitters I've seen in a long time. I don't know if he'll catch, but his bat will get him to the big leagues."

"I think that kid has a chance to do [in the majors] what he's doing now -- hit for average and power. He hit a ball last year in Charleston that's still up there."

Already 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, there have been questions about whether Montero, a 19-year-old from Venezuela, will be able to stay behind the plate long-term. But Yankees VP of Player Development Mark Newman praised Montero for his recent improvement behind the plate.

"We feel better about [his defense] every month," Newman said. "He keeps getting better every month. He's throwing better. . . . We're very happy with his defensive progress, and I mean very. He's really improved."

"I wrote in my report that Romine reminded me of [Jason] Varitek," the scout said. "He's a big, strong guy, can catch and throw, has some power. Romine, to me, was further advanced behind the plate. He can catch and throw, and his bat could get him there, too."

The pleasant problem that the Yankees have is trying to find playing time for Montero and Romine behind the plate. Because they're playing at the same level, they alternate between catching and serving as the designated hitter. That, combined with their success behind the plate, could lead to one of them being given a promotion to Double-A Trenton sometime this season, in order to split them up.

"Yeah, it could be one or the other, but not both," Newman said. "They're both good players."

I really hope Montero can learn to become a solid defensive catcher because the dude can flat out rake the ball. But with Mark Teixeira manning first for the next eight years a move and with A-Rod and Jeter getting older the first base and DH spots will likely be taken by the time he's ready for the big leagues. In Baseball America's 2009 prospect handbook they suggest that he could possibly move to left field, so I guess that's another possibility down the road, but if he could learn to catch it would be the perfect fit for the Yanks.

I've heard some people worry about his size behind the plate but Orioles top prospect Matt Wieters is listed at 6'5", 230 lbs, and he's very good behind the plate, so big catchers do exist. Montero's problems have more to do with lack of agility and because of that his arm strength plays down, things that Wieters has no problem with.

This year Montero is hitting .355/.404/.593 with 8 homers, 36 RBI, and 15 doubles. Romine is hitting .289/.306/.462 with 5 HR, 25 RBI and also has 15 doubles.