PEORIA — The Peoria Sports Complex was relatively subdued a day after the Spring Breakout showcase, but there was some action against the Seattle Mariners A-ball squads on the backfields of the Padres’ complex.
***
Carson Montgomery started for the Lake Elsinore Storm squad and looked impressive in his second spring outing. When San Diego made the righthander an 11th-round pick last year, Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo told us he could be one of the steals of the draft.
When he came out of high school in the midst of the COVID pandemic in 2020, Montgomery was ranked above Dylan Crews, the second overall selection in the 2023 draft, as a prep in Florida. Based on his salary demands and commitment to Florida State, he became the highest-ranked player to make it to a four-year college. Things never clicked for Montgomery with the Seminoles and he posted a 5.60 ERA in three seasons. The underlying talent everyone saw in high school remains on display, though.
Carson Montgomery with Flordia State. (Photo: Florida State University Athletics)
Sunday, his fastball was between 93 and 95 mph, and he showed a decent change and developing sweeper in three shutout innings. Montgomery also looked better the deeper he went into the game, trusting his stuff more and challenging hitters with his fastball.
“The main difference I see is that there isn’t as much emphasis on immediate results here as there was in college,” said Montgomery for an upcoming interview with MadFriars. “It’s more about me improving each day and where I will be at the end of the year.”
Montgomery throws a four-seam fastball, cutter, sweeper, and circle change. Last year at Florida State, he had a slight groin injury, which affected his velocity and mechanics. This caused his front side to fly open, allowing batters to see the ball out of his hand early.
“Now that I am healthy, my mechanics are back to where they were, and I can get back to where I was at the beginning of last year. That has been my big emphasis since the end of last season.”
We will have more with Carson later this week.
***
Leo De Vries has looked solid at shortstop. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
After striking out in his first at-bat, Leo De Vries returned with a line drive to right field in his second plate appearance and another to left in his next at-bat. While his athleticism is evident on the field, his advanced approach has stood out to most evaluators. He seems to have a very good idea of what he wants to do with every at-bat.
The switch-hitter’s father played basketball on the Dominican Republic national team. DeVries essentially stopped playing his father’s sport competitively when he was around 12 and has focused on baseball since. He has a quick, compact stroke from both sides of the plate and has looked like a plus defender at shortstop all Spring.
***
Ethan Salas was with the High-A club today, splitting time between catcher and designated hitter. He walked twice and showed his quick, efficient left-handed stroke. He has looked more comfortable against A-ball competition than against the upper minors, especially when facing pitchers with quality secondary stuff.
***
Jay Beshears has made an impression in his first spring training. (Photo: Jerry Espinoza)
Jay Beshears put together some quality at-bats again today, including a triple. After playing all around the infield following the draft last season, the former Duke star has mainly seen time this spring at third base. He looks much more comfortable in his first professional spring training than in his draft year last season with the Storm.
“I feel much more comfortable mentally now than last year,” said Beshears. “The key is having a routine that prepares you to play in games and compete. That is the biggest difference between last season and now; the routine has given me more confidence and enabled me to relax more on the field and play.”
Notes: Griffin Doersching hit a massive home run to left field in the High-A game. The 25-year-old slugger should open as the everyday first baseman for the TinCaps. … Dillon Head was held out of Saturday’s Spring Breakout game with a sore lat out of “an abundance of caution,” said Mike Daly, the Assistant Director of Player Development. “He wanted to play, but we want to make sure he is ready to go for the start of the year.” … Tyler Robertson has also been out for a few days with back spasms but, like Head, will also be ready for the start of the season, most likely with the TinCaps. Robertson has put on 15 pounds of muscle and is now 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, and can also really run. If his hitting mechanics continue to improve, there will be a lot of tools on display at Summit City. … With the deadline for the domestic minor league roster to be at 165 players drawing close, the club has officially transferred eight players to the 60-day Injured List and moved reliever Seth Mayberry, who recently underwent Tommy John surgery, to the full-season IL. The 60-day designation, which requires approval and review by MLB, means that players don’t count against the roster limit until their rehab process is complete. The group includes Drew Carlton and Reiss Knehr, who appeared in the big leagues last year, as well as righty Garrett Hawkins and lefty Bodi Rascon, who each had Tommy John surgery in August of last year.
