In an interview with Len Kasper on our podcast, the 312, Kasper goes in-depth on Mike Montgomery and the Cubs opening at the 5th spot in their rotation. Kasper, who also said this in another interview with the 312 back in October, believes it is “Montgomery’s job to lose.”
“I think in his heart of hearts, HE wants to be a starter. I love the stuff and the skies the limit. You just trust the pitching info structure lead by Chris Bosio, Lester Strode, and Mike Borzello that they’re going to bring the best out of him.”
And even with the speculation of the Cubs pursuing more starting pitching, Kasper reinforced the idea that Montgomery was going to start, and anyone else added to the roster was acquired to add depth
“I think they’re confident that Montgomery can grab that spot. They don’t feel like, in my opinion, they need to have a 5th guy. I think it’s more of a 6th, 7th, 8th guy for insurance.”
Listen to the full interview here.
Kasper eludes to a sense of confidence the Cubs have in Montgomery, and while maybe not readily apparently at the beginning of the offseason, is becoming more clear as the smoke of free agency disperses. It seems like the Cubs really do see Mike Montgomery as an every-day starter.
All five of his pitches generate ground balls, and when he gets ahead in the count his curve ball becomes an excellent strike out pitch, which allows Montgomery to be the aggressor in most situations. Plus, his strikeout percentage improved from 16.2% in 2015, to 22.2% in 2016.
Montgomery also has five more years of team control, three of which he is arbitration eligible, and he comes dirt cheap making $515, 000 last season, as the lefty continues to check off more boxes on Theo Epstein’s wishlist.
Cubs’ Theo Epstein on the Mike Montgomery trade (video via @MDGonzales) https://t.co/d7l4vcQz7H pic.twitter.com/8cdcfcVBtp
— ChicagoSports (@ChicagoSports) July 20, 2016
Of course, his ERA when starting compared to relieving almost doubles from 2.10 to 4.23, but he has only pitched a collective 125.2 innings in his two seasons in the majors. And while the advanced numbers do say that Montgomery struggles going through the lineup a second or third time, his numbers as a reliever and spot-starter for the Cubs garner at least a full season of experimenting.
While many Cubs fans may have had their sights set on Tyson Ross or younger options like Chris Archer and Sonny Gray, it turns out Theo Epstein made his deal to acquire that young, controllable starter last July, we all just weren’t paying attention. Luckily, the Cubs front office was, and now Montgomery looks to prove he belongs in the Chicago Cubs rotation with a strong 2017 campaign.
