It’s fair to say that Keider Montero has been one of the unsung heroes for the Tigers over the last few seasons. You look at the raw numbers and there’s nothing spectacular. He’ll never be a top-tier pitcher in this league, but it feels like he’s had the ball in his hands for some pretty impactful games, and he usually gives the Tigers a chance to win. He was one of the few team members who performed well down the stretch. After being recalled in September, he had a pretty good month at the end of the regular season as a starter, and then gave Detroit some big frames out of the bullpen in the postseason.
I like Montero. I like Montero more than I should. He’s definitely lacking a put-away pitch as a starter, but for a guy who’s been called up and sent back down 1 million times since he’s arrived at the big league level, I feel like he’s had quite a few impactful moments as a member of the Tigers. He gave them some big starts down the stretch in 2024 when the rotation was just him and Tarik Skubal. Last year, he was pretty brilliant out of the pen in the postseason, getting his first career save against the Mariners in Game One of the ALDS. As a tiger, he’s pitched 8 1/3 innings in the postseason over the last two years, and he’s only allowed one unearned run. That will definitely help his standing.
It probably seems like I’m itching to give Keider a pretty solid grade, and I do think he serves a purpose on this team, but I can’t act like there’s anything spectacular about him either. He’s one of the few Tigers who left a good taste in my mouth. I think there’s a legit chance that they move him to the bullpen next year, and he can be really solid. Allow him to air out that fastball, and maybe he can get some legit swing and miss with his breaking stuff. At the same time, he’s been more often than not a starter in his big league career, and as a starter, his ceiling is that of a serviceable pitcher. Nothing stands out, and he’s severely lacking any sort of legitimate strikeout pitch.
As unspectacular as Montero is, his role is a pretty valuable one. There’s always going to be injuries in every rotation, and if you need a guy to have a spot start, Montero is a pretty good option. There was a time not long ago when if a Tiger starter went down, it didn’t really matter who would be taking their spot. You could chalk that game up to being a loss every fifth day.
Montero was still only 25 years old, and up to this point in his big league career, he has not experienced any major injuries. It’ll be interesting to see how Scott Harris plays this upcoming off-season. Obviously, the biggest domino that could potentially fall is Tarik Skubal being traded, and assuming that he is, you’re going to have a few open spots in your rotation. I do think that the bullpen will be Montero’s long-term calling, but I also think they’re going to give him at least one more shot to make the rotation out of spring training. He’s got some moxie, but I still can’t call him better than average.
FINAL GRADE: C+