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It has been announced that St. Louis Cardinals prospect Elehuris Montero has been named the Midwest League Most Valuable Player.
Elehuris Montero is showing a bright future this year, and this is his reward. He is currently the number eight ranked prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. What is even sweeter is that the news came out on August 17, which just so happens to be his 20th birthday. He spent all season playing with Peoria to win the award, with the exception the last 10 days spent with Palm Beach.
He is in good company. The last Cardinals minor leaguer to take home this award was a little known guy named Albert Pujols.
Prospect Prowess
To start the year, Montero was dwelling in the cellar of the top 30. However, when the updated rankings came in following the draft, he made a massive jump into the top ten. If the MVP award does not say enough, that should.
I wrote about the insane season he was putting together a few months ago, which can be read here. What is amazing is that he is only 20 years old.
Season Numbers
In 102 games with Peoria, Montero hit .321 with 15 homeruns and 69 RBIs. That resulted in a .208 ISO and a wRC+ of 156. To cap off his Midwest League performance, he led the league in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, and total bases.
Since being called up to Palm Beach, Montero has played in a total of nine games. To this point he has already slugged a homerun with four RBIs. In this small sample size he has a wRC+ of 174.
The Future
Montero’s stock has certainly risen over the course of this season. Between him and Nolan Gorman there is a lot of potential at the third base position. He can project defensively at first base, however his lack of speed will limit options.
His real potential lies in how his offense develops. The St. Louis Cardinals lineup will be able to benefit if he can become a consistent power threat from the right side of the plate. So far, it is going well.
This is a great honor for Montero and it speaks to the amazing season he had. As he continues to progress, the St. Louis Cardinals could have something really special here.