Colorado Rockies: Elehuris Montero should have been playing all summer

Colorado Rockies prospect Elehuris Montero has finally received something resembling regular big league playing time since the passing of the MLB trade deadline. It’s a good step forward for the organization, even if it came way too late.

The 24-year-old corner infielder/designated hitter tore up minor league pitching last season between Double-A and Triple-A. It was enough for many Rockies fans to hope they might see him in the big leagues early this season. But, to their disappointment, Montero began the year at Triple-A Albuquerque.

Elehuris Montero was great at Triple-A for the Rockies and should have been in the majors earlier

Once again, Elehuris Montero lit up Triple-A pitching. Considering Montero had nothing left to prove and the poor performance exhibited by the big league club, it made sense that Montero would get a chance to show what he can do with some consistent playing time in the major leagues. That is what normal teams do with their top prospects. The Rockies elected to keep Montero in the minor leagues for the majority of the season.

What makes this decision all the more mind-boggling is that you can hardly argue there was a logjam of true talent in front of him. In fact, you could make the case that Montero might actually be the most talented hitter on the 40-man roster and he is certainly the one with the most promise for the future of the club.

The weirdest thing is that the Rockies actually called Montero up on April 29, only to send him back to Triple-A a couple of days later on May 2. He played one game and went 2-for-4 but was sent out the following day. They recalled him again on June 7 and demoted him on June 11.  This time around, he got two starts.

He was recalled for a third time on June 21 and demoted again on July 14. This was his longest stint thus far in the big leagues, during which he started six games over 4 weeks. It wasn’t until as late as August 2 that Montero was called up seemingly with the intention of playing regularly.

The front office indicated that this was because the team was no longer competing for a playoff berth, which was news to baseball fans everywhere who had no idea the team was ever competing for a playoff berth.

Since his fourth and final call-up, Montero has hit .292 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 19 games (all starts) while swatting 7 doubles and posting an .866 OPS.

There is no question, Elehuris Montero should have been playing all summer. Not only would the exposure have been positive for his personal development, but–for a delusional front office that thinks the team can win now–there’s a good chance he would have helped the team win a few more games along the way.

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