When it comes to prospects, much of the attention at Seattle Mariners camp went shortstop Colt Emerson and pitchers Kade Anderson and Rylan Sloan.
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Those are the top three prospects in the organization according to must publications, and each could end up impacting the big league club at some point this season, especially Emerson and Anderson.
Outfielder Lazaro Montes, however, had a quieter spring. The 21-year-old went just 4 for 25 (.160 average) with two doubles, an RBI, a walk and 10 strikeouts over 11 spring training games. But he did end things on a high note during Seattle’s Spring Breakout game against Milwaukee last Friday, going 3 for 3 with two RBIs and a stolen bases (those stats didn’t count towards his spring totals).
Montes is the Mariners’ fourth-ranked prospect and No. 43 league-wide, according to MLB Pipeline. Jim Callis, a senior writer for MLB.com, recently shared his assessment of the slugging Cuban outfielder with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.
“There aren’t many minor leaguers who have more power than him,” Callis said. “He hits the ball hard, he hits it far.”
During his age-20 season in 2025, Montes was tied for third in the minor leagues with 32 home runs across all levels. He hit 18 during a 67-game stint with High-A Everett and 14 in 64 games after making the jump to Double-A Arkansas and playing in the pitcher friendly environment of the Texas League. However, Montes had a 29% strikeout rate across both levels, including 30.5% in Double-A.
“He’s a pretty precocious power hitting prospect,” Callis said. “There’s some swing and miss there. (He’s) always gonna be a power-over-hit guy. He’s not a big runner, so he’s more of a left field-DH type. He does have a strong arm. But his power is tremendous.”
Montes’ high-power, low-contact profile and limited abilities in the field make him a potential boom-or-bust prospect whose value will be completely dependent on his bat in the eyes of most experts. That makes Montes different from the other touted prospects the M’s have had in recent years, but it’s also something Callis likes for the organization.
“That’s another reason I like the Mariners’ system is you gotta a little bit of everything,” he said. “We talked about Anderson and Sloan. We talked about Colt Emerson, he’s one of the best pure hitters in the minors. And Laz Montes is one of the best power hitters in the minors. His raw power is near the top of the scale.”
Hear the full conversation here or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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