Rays Flamethrowing Rookie Could Become One of Best Relievers in Baseball
The Tampa Bay Rays are being forced to play their home games at Steinbrenner Field while they await the repair of Tropicana Field. But that is not stopping the team from showcasing some incredible young talent.
One young player taking the MLB by storm is rookie reliever Mason Montgomery.
Montgomery was called up in September last season and made nine appearances. He threw 9.2 innings, allowed just two earned runs and struck out 17 batters. He did walk five batters, but he allowed just six total hits.
With that excellent stat line, and a great spring training, the left-hander was able to make the opening day roster.
Through the first eight games of the season, Montgomery has already made three appearances. In his three innings, he has struck out seven batters while not walking anyone. He did give up a home run in his last outing against the Texas Rangers, but it is the only two runs he has allowed.
The most impressive part of Montgomery's game is his fastball.
Per Baseball Savant, the flamethrowing lefty averages 99.7 mph on his fastball. Because of that, he is in the 93rd percentile in whiff rate and 99th percentile in strikeout percentage.
His fastball has reached 102 mph, as well. Only four left-handed pitchers have been able to reach 102 MPH with their fastball since pitch tracking became available in 2008.
One of those pitchers is Aroldis Chapman. Montgomery profiles almost identically to him.
David Adler of MLB.com took a look at all the similarities between the two flamethrowing lefties.
This season, Montgomery averages 99.7 MPH with eight inches of drop, seven inches of run and an IVB of 19 inches. The high IVB gives the illusion of rise with his heater. The former sixth-round pick also 6.7 feet of extension.
From 2015-17, Chapman struck out 275 batters in 174.2 innings while allowing just eight total home runs in 176 appearances.
In those three seasons, the seven-time All-Star averaged 100.4 MPH with nine inches of drop, seven inches of run, an IVB of 18 inches and he had 6.8 feet of extension.
The two lefties are very similar in those metrics. The only difference being Montgomery is just 24 years old. The years taken from Chapman are his age 27-29 seasons.
Needless to say, the Rays have something very special with their hard-throwing lefty.
As long as Montgomery can stay healthy, he has a chance to be one of the best relievers in baseball this year, and for multiple years to follow.
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Cameron Zunkel is a sports writer from the western suburbs of Chicago. He played Division-II baseball at the University of Illinois at Springfield where he earned a masters degree in Communication. Cameron also played independent league baseball for the Joliet Slammers and Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League. <br /> <br />He has been in journalism since 2022 and has a passion for baseball specifically, but he enjoys all sports. His other work includes writing sports betting articles for ClutchPoints. In his free time, you can catch Cam at the gym, on the golf course, or coaching the youth in the beautiful sport of baseball.