Lazaro Montes Mania Takes Over Seattle: Mariners Outfield Prospect’s Impressive Stat Has Fans Going Wild

The Seattle Mariners are regarded as having one of the best developmental systems in MLB.

The Mariners’ minor leagues boasted eight players on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list, more than any team, and five on MLB Pipeline’s when the season came to a close.

In previous years, Seattle’s pitching has received the most praise. Four pitchers on the team’s starting rotation were drafted and developed by the organization. Currently, the top position players in the farm system are getting the most praise.

MLB Pipeline writers Sam Dykstra and Jonathan Mayo recently published a story highlighting one impressive stat from one minor leaguer for all 30 teams. And Lazaro Montes received praise for the Mariners due to his impressive 105 RBIs in 2024:

Montes continues to solidify himself as one of the best future run producers in the game. He reached High-A as a teenager and that RBI total put him tied for third among all Minor Leaguers, behind only Deyvison De Los Santos and non-prospect Jason Vosler (tied with 32-year-old Kyle Garlick). Montes posted a .309/.411/.527 line in Single-A to earn the promotion while cutting his strikeout rate and drawing plenty of walks.

Montes, a 2022 international signing out of Cuba, played 116 games for the Mariners’ Low-A affiliate, the Modesto Nuts, and High-A affiliate, the Everett AquaSox, in 2024. He hit .288 with 21 home runs to go with his 105 RBIs.

He’s ranked as Seattle’s No. 3 minor leaguer and the No. 47 in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline and the No. 7 team prospect according to Baseball America. He was rated as the No. 41 prospect in Baseball America’s most recent top 100 released on Sept. 3.

Montes is viewed as having some of the most potential in the club’s farm system. Even those who are skeptical about his defense in the outfield project him to be a major league-level designated hitter when he gets called up.

It’s unclear whether Montes will begin 2025 back with the AquaSox or with the team’s Double-A club, the Arkansas Travelers. But based on his current trajectory, it seems like Montes will get his chance to play in Double-A at some point next season.

Montes is projected for a 2026 call-up according to MLB Pipeline.