The Rockies have agreed to a $5MM signing bonus with first round draft pick Benny Montgomery, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). That’s a touch below the $5.1769MM slot value that accompanies the #8 overall pick.
An outfielder from a Pennsylvania high school, Montgomery had been committed to the University of Virginia. Instead, he’ll join the Colorado organization and add a high-upside talent to the farm system.
Montgomery was a bit of a divisive prospect among public evaluators, ranking between 10th and 28th on pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Keith Law of the Athletic, and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. There’s little question about Montgomery’s physical gifts; he had among the best combinations of raw power and speed in the class. All three publications raise a bit of concern about Mongtomery’s atypical hitting mechanics — which McDaniel compares to those of Hunter Pence — but the Rockies were apparently comfortable he’ll make enough contact to be an impactful player.
Best foot speed, best outfield arm, and best barrel velocity in the draft, all in one guy. That’s very unusual. This one is an absolute beast if he can smooth out the hitch in his swing.
“If…”
That concerns me.
But heard him interviewed. Seems like a great young man. Just hope he can hit well enough to be an impact player.
I am a bit puzzled by the selection. I think Montgomery is a fine prospect, but his skillset is very similar to the first round pick from last year, Zac Veen. I understand not drafting for need of the big league club, but drafting for need in your farm system seems like a good idea. Three of the Rockies top 6 prospects are outfielders or converted outfielders. I think pitching, catcher, or the middle infield should have been the priority here.
They thought he was the highest ceiling player in the draft. There are five or six guys who could realistically be that guy, and he’s one of them. Those tools are gold. Veen’s a corner guy, Montgomery’s a CF, and the Rox need a good CF desperately.
Rest of their draft was mostly college pitchers, to your point, including three in a row from 2nd round to 3rd round. Jaden Hill is gonna be another good get.
I’m a huge fan of the Rockies draft. Don’t know how they did it with basically no front office, but they did good.
With the Rockies, having no front office is a vast improvement over having the front office of the past 20 years.
It’s a fair point. I just get nervous seeing the top prospects in the system as outfielders. Granted, it is possible that they could play together and Coors is definitely always needing speedy outfielders. I guess I am just worried that the team is getting a bit shellshocked over drafting pitchers high after the recent flops of Riley Pint, Mike Nikorak , and Robert Tyler.
I’d say it’s more being shell-shocked at drafting pitchers in the first round, especially high school ones. And they’re not wrong about that. Solid college arms in the 2-4 round range is I think a sweet spot. They need volume of usable arms more than one superstar (who might not be able to pitch to his ceiling in Coors anyway and can always get hurt).
lol…that first sentence. Maybe some truth to it.
I’ll add Tommy Doyle to those high-drafted pitchers who have busted. The Rockies sure have that trick down pat. Now, they draft an injured guy. That’s Rockies Smart.
I think we need to remember the state of the organization. The boys at 20th and Blake have not had to truly rebuild in a long time. However, to have two stud OF reaching the boys at the same time (4years?), will end up working with the college arms they’ve grabbed these last two years. By that time, only Rodgers, Tapia and possibly McMahon will be in the lineup. Better to get top talent that can play D and hit. Foster and Black have done remarkable with this crew of arms…they just need some more quality arms with outstanding moxie between their ears.
Expecting all your top prospects to work out is a dangerous plan. Expecting them to work out and develop at the same pace, this far out…even worse.
Kumar Rocker or hey, Khalil Watson, seemed like great choices, maybe better ones. If you wanted swing and miss with power, why not consider Brady House? If you’re going to lose Jon Gray (hope he resigns), then why not consider Bachman or Madden?
If your name is Montgomery it’s almost a given you are going to make it to the big leagues. Kind of like when someone named Page Turner or Jim Bookbinder applies to be a librarian.
What? I don’t get it.