Rafael Montero has 47 big league innings to his ledger, yet he suddenly finds himself in a prominent role in the Mets bullpen, being thrown right into the fire in crucial situations.
On Friday night, Montero’s pitching maturity came into question when he allowed the deciding two runs to score on a Phil Gosselin single with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning.
On Saturday, Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen said he was bothered by Montero’s poor pitch selection in that inning – he threw 35 consecutive fastballs in his outing.
“What bothered me was [Montero] did not use his two-seam fastball, he did not use his changeup, which have both been huge pitches for him all the way along,” Dan Warthen said, according to the New York Post. “He has to learn to shake off and call his own pitches. He will mature. He will get better.”
Travis d’Arnaud took some responsibility for Montero’s pitch selection, as he did not call for his other pitches, but feared Montero might be erratic with his off-speed.
“I should have probably put down a three or a four, a slider or a changeup,” d’Arnaud told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “I’ll take responsibility for that.”
All told, it still came down to Montero’s inability to execute his fastball. It’s still his best pitch, and he should only get beaten throwing his best pitch – he most certainly would’ve been second guessed for walking Gosselin on a 3-2 slider on change-up in that at-bat.
Of course, he unquestionably should’ve given Atlanta another look, and as Warthen said, that – along with his ability to pitch around mistakes behind him – should come with more experience and pitching maturity.
Just Mets 