Arizona Diamondbacks' Jordan Montgomery At Risk of Making Rough Franchise History

Jordan Montgomery owns a 6.80 ERA through his first nine outings this year, putting him on track for one of the worst starts to a season by any Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher ever.

Apr 19, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery (52) throws against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. / John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks haven't exactly gotten their money's worth out of Jordan Montgomery so far this year, and the veteran left-hander could further cement that with another sketchy outing on Tuesday.

Montgomery is currently 3-4 with a 6.80 ERA, 1.727 WHIP, 5.7 strikeouts per nine innings and a -0.9 WAR through nine starts this season. He will make his 10th appearance of the year against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET.

According to Underdog Fantasy's Justin Havens, only five Diamondbacks pitchers have had an ERA higher than 6.80 through their first 10 starts of a season.

Brandon Pfaadt recently did worse, posting a 7.16 ERA through 10 starts in 2023. Before him, Shelby Miller had a 7.09 ERA 10 starts into his 2016 campaign.

Jeff Suppan posted a 6.84 ERA through his first 10 starts in 1998, while Casey Daigle had a 7.16 ERA in 2004. That same season, Édgar González set the franchise record with a 9.32 ERA across 10 winless starts.

Jordan Montgomery has a 6.80 ERA through his first 9 starts this season.

Only five D-Backs pitchers have posted a higher ERA through the first 10 starts of a season: Jeff Suppan (1998), Édgar González and Casey Daigle (2004), Shelby Miller (2016) and Brandon Pfaadt (2023).

— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) June 11, 2024

The Diamondbacks surely expected much more out of Montgomery, who they inked to a one-year, $25 million contract in March.

Montgomery was fresh off a dominant run to a World Series title with the Texas Rangers, who had acquired the southpaw from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline. He went 13-12 with a 3.15 ERA on the whole in 2023.

Taking out his brief post-Tommy John 2019 campaign and the COVID-impacted 2020 season, Montgomery entered 2024 with a 36-31 record, 3.53 ERA, 1.211 WHIP and 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings for his career, including the postseason.

The lack of interest in Montgomery in the free agent market now looks far less shocking than it did over the offseason. Super agent Scott Boras couldn't get any takers for Montgomery on a long-term deal, and the 31-year-old lefty couldn't even land a prove-it deal until the day before Opening Day.

That delayed Montgomery's season debut by roughly three weeks, and he hasn't been particularly impressive since actually joining the big league roster.

Montgomery can either turn that around Tuesday night, or make franchise history by continuing down this spotty path.

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