Detroit Tigers Prospect Report: Troy Montgomery

The Detroit Tigers are in rebuilding mode. “Future Friday” is a segment where we examine the bevy of prospects in Detroit and their future impact in the Motor City.

The Detroit Tigers sold off a lot of veteran talent over the past year in exchange for prospects.

While it can be hard for fans to see all-stars like J.D. Martinez, Justin Upton and Alex Avila dealt, not to mention franchise icon Justin Verlander, the return can be an exciting batch of prospects who will become the next stars in Detroit.

‘Future Fridays,’ is a new weekly column where we pick a prospect and delve into their expected impact on the team. We want to help Tiger fans identify the newest wave of prospects as they move into rebuilding mode.

The Detroit Tigers only made one trade during the offseason. Veteran second baseman Ian Kinsler was dealt to the Los Angeles Angels for a pair of prospects. One of those prospects was right-hander Wilkel Hernandez, whom we profiled here. The other is outfielder Troy Montgomery, the subject of today’s Future Friday post.

Troy Montgomery

23-year-old outfielder Troy Montgomery was drafted by the Angels in the eighth round of the 2016 draft out of Ohio State University. He was aggressively promoted by the Angels, reaching Double-A last season.

Although he only hit .235 in 20 games at Double-A, he hit .282 with a 113 wRC+ in 65 games at High-A. He has posted strong walk numbers throughout his minor league career, with a 12.2% rate in Double-A. The left-hander also does a great job limiting his strikeouts. He has struck out less than 20% of the time at every minor league stop.

Montgomery profiles as an above-average fourth outfielder. He doesn’t do any one thing exceptionally well, but he has very few flaws in his game. He posts average power numbers, has decent speed and is capable of playing center field.

FanGraphs’ prospect guru, Eric Longenhagen, lauded Montgomery’s bat speed and predicted that he will be a big league bench bat someday.

Additionally, MLB Pipeline has this to say about Detroit’s newest outfield prospect:

A left-handed hitter, Montgomery has always had a solid feel to hit to go along with a good knowledge of the strike zone. He draws walks, gets on base and makes consistent hard contact. That leads to some extra-base ability and while he’s never going to be a huge power guy, he will run into a few along the way. He’s a plus runner, though an inefficient basestealer, and that speed helps him provide solid outfield defense.

Next: Five Tigers prospects who will debut in 2018

Montgomery is a do-it-all outfield prospect who could someday fill in at each outfield spot for the Tigers. At age 23, he is likely still a year or two away from reaching the big leagues. However, he has the potential to be a very valuable piece for the Tigers just as they begin turning the corner into a contending team.