Just Mets

I have no idea what to make of Rafael Montero yet.

On Thursday, Montero needed 29 pitches to get two outs. He walked a batter in the sixth inning – which at the time forced home the go-ahead run for the Marlins – he allowed a triple to Ichiro Suzuki, an unearned run, and he recorded a strikeout in 2/3 of an inning.

His night could’ve looked a lot worse if not for an outstanding running catch by Curtis Granderson to end the sixth inning, saving three runs for Montero and Dillon Gee.

Unlike his outing last Saturday in Atlanta during which he threw 35 consecutive fastballs at one point, Montero actually used his entire repertoire on Thursday. But, in watching him throw his off-speed, it almost looks as though he doesn’t trust his stuff, which could help explain what happened last Saturday in Atlanta. It’s like he wasn’t throwing them with any conviction he – threw about half of his off-speed pitches for strikes which made him fall behind in the count routinely and force him back into predictable fastball counts during his brief outing.

In his time in the minors, Montero would throw all of his pitches for strikes and wasn’t afraid to use his change-up and slider at any point in the count, which is really why he was able to rise so quickly through the minor leagues. Because of that fast rise, it’s quite possible Montero’s still a little bit raw, needs to build confidence and learn how to execute at this level, which is why I suggested late last night he could suffer a demotion back to Las Vegas when the club activates Daniel Muno.

Or, as much as the team sees him as a valuable, late-inning reliever at some point, maybe Montero simply isn’t cut out for the bullpen and should go back to Las Vegas to stretch out as a starting pitcher again.

As I said, I have no idea what to make of him yet.