Lazaro Montes wants to learn as much as he can in big league camp with the Seattle Mariners

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This article was published 16/02/2025 (268 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Lazaro Montes writes about his growth and his mistakes in a new journal every year.

With each page, he moves a little closer to the majors.

Montes is part of a rich Seattle farm system, and the 20-year-old outfielder is showing off his progress in big league camp at the start of spring training. It’s a chance for Montes to work alongside Julio Rodríguez and the rest of the Mariners before likely moving over to the minor league group.

“He loves the game. He loves being around the game,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said Sunday. “And that’s the type of attitude that’s pretty contagious. His energy’s contagious, and you just love being around it.”

Montes agreed to a $2.5 million bonus when he signed with Seattle in January 2022 as an international amateur free agent. He started writing in a journal after he joined the organization.

“I saw some major leaguers doing that and when we had meetings it was something that they suggested to us, you know, something that we could do,” Montes said through a translator. “And I just ended up trying it, and it worked for me.”

Montes is regarded as one of the team’s top prospects after he batted .288 with 21 homers and 105 RBIs over two minor league stops last year. But he also struck out 128 times in 116 games.

The Cuban slugger was promoted from Class A Modesto to High-A Everett in June. He hit just .127 (9 for 71) for the AquaSox in July before putting together a big August, batting .411 with seven homers and 21 RBIs.

“What I learned was to just have confidence in myself,” Montes said. “When I first got there, I came with the mentality that I have to prove myself. I have to go in there and, you know, take that extra step. Just be better. And that’s when I find out that I was struggling a little bit. … So just trust in myself.”

Montes was in Miami when he got a call from the Mariners with his invitation to major league camp for spring training. He is hoping to learn as much as he can while he is on the big league side, especially the different routines players use in their preparation.

He already has bonded with Rodríguez over their mutual interest in anime and video games, and he has a special connection with Randy Arozarena — another outfielder from Cuba.

“One of the things for us, you know, as Cubans, something that we carry is how competitive we are,” Montes said. “And to see him bring that and, you know, bring it to the major leagues is something that I’ve really admired because bringing something from our culture into this league, it’s special.”

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