The Miggy Resurgence
Can Montero make a return to excellence?
One of the most pleasant surprises of this young 2017 season has been the re-emergence of Miguel Montero in this Cub lineup. Following his 2–4 with a HR on Saturday against the Red Sox, the veteran catcher is batting an incredible .394 on the season with an OPS north of 1.000.
Montero’s 2016 campaign left a lot to be desired. It was arguably the worst statistical year of the Venezuela native’s 11-year career. He hit .216 with an OPS of .684 while struggling to control the base paths as his throwing velocity seemed to dissipate. In 2016, Montero ended the season gunning down only 11 percent of the runs who attempted to swipe a bag. That was by far the worst of his career, with his previous low being a 20% caught stealing percent in 2015.
Obviously Miggy had his moments, I doubt most of us will ever forget his NLCS Game 1 grand slam against the Dodgers, but all in all, the season would have to be considered a failure for him.
Fast forward to 2017. Wilson Contreras is the Cub’s catcher of the future, Montero had a spat with Joe Maddon over playing time in the playoffs last year, so it’s easy to see why Montero essentially had a foot out the door on the North Side to start the year. But instead of sulking or perhaps letting his attention wander into his upcoming free agent offseason, Montero has responded with his best stretch as a Cub.
On top of his vastly improved swing from last year, Montero has taken on the role of Grandpa Rossy in being that calming force for the Cubs pitchers. Contreras is a great talent, but Montero has stepped up his leadership role this year taking on the responsibility of calming known hot-heads John Lackey and Jon Lester when things appear to be getting out of control. That is one of the intangibles that won’t show up on Baseball Reference but certainly impacts a ball club.
Focusing on his offensive changes from last year to this, there is reason to believe he can improve vastly on his 2016 season. It’s unreasonable to assume Montero can keep flirting with .400 especially as a backup, but Miggy’s bat speed and approach to his at-bats this year are setting him up much better than last when he appeared to be unable to handle fastballs up in the zone.
The future is uncertain for Montero, but playing for his baseball life has brought out the best in Miggy. The ripple effects of a Miggy resurgence would do wonders for this year’s club.
If the Cubs can get this continued production out of their backup catcher, it will allow Maddon to not have to push Contreras too hard in the regular season. Being wary of a young catcher’s innings is important when it comes to health and durability in the long term.
There are still hole’s in Montero’s game however. He has continued his decline in terms of his inability to throw runners out on the base paths. He has failed to catch a single base stealer in six attempts, continuing his steady decline from his career best 42% CS in 2012. Montero has above average framing abilities, but when you have Jake Arrieta (slow to the plate) and Jon Lester (can’t pick off) as 40 percent of your starting rotation, you need to have a catcher who can control the base paths.
It will be interesting to keep an eye on how Montero progresses throughout 2017 given that it’s his contract year, but his continued success at the plate would certainly be a nice boost for the World Champs.
Jason Schwartz is the Editor in Chief of BulletinBoard, a Chicago Bulls blog. Only his love for the Cubs would dare him to write elsewhere. You can find him on Twitter here.
