Rafael Montero
P | Bats/Throws: R/R | 6' 0" 193LBS | Age: 34
W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP
2022 5 2 2.37 71 0 14 68.1 73 1.02
2023 3 3 5.08 68 0 1 67.1 79 1.53
2024 1 2 4.70 41 0 0 38.1 23 1.41
10 Seasons 22 28 4.71 321 30 30 462.1 459 1.46
G W-L ERA IP SO WHIP
2022 71 5-2 2.37 68.1 73 1.02
2023 68 3-3 5.08 67.1 79 1.53
2024 41 1-2 4.70 38.1 23 1.41
10 Seasons 321 22-28 4.71 462.1 459 1.46
MLB Percentile Rankings
Movement Profile (Induced Break)
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Statcast Statistics

Season Age Pitches Batted
Balls
Barrels Barrel % Barrel/PA Exit
Velocity
Max EV Launch
Angle
LA Sweet-
Spot %
XBA XSLG WOBA XWOBA XWOBACON HardHit% K% BB% ERA xERA
2015 24 192 28 1 3.6 2.2 88.1 112.0 5.0 28.6 .180 .270 .265 .219 .292 28.6 28.3 10.9 4.50 1.97
2016 25 388 57 4 7.0 4.3 86.5 111.9 13.5 36.8 .291 .487 .408 .391 .454 31.6 21.5 17.2 8.05 6.91
2017 26 2219 364 15 4.1 2.7 84.6 110.7 10.4 30.8 .250 .374 .359 .320 .352 25.3 20.7 12.2 5.52 4.42
2019 28 459 72 10 13.9 8.8 87.3 114.0 13.7 34.7 .233 .458 .283 .311 .420 30.6 30.1 4.4 2.48 4.26
2020 29 289 45 7 15.6 9.7 88.2 112.0 23.0 44.4 .241 .475 .283 .339 .428 44.4 26.4 8.3 4.08 4.96
2021 30 872 161 8 5.0 3.6 86.7 110.5 5.9 29.8 .231 .329 .340 .289 .311 34.2 18.7 7.6 6.38 3.50
2022 31 1093 172 5 2.9 1.9 86.3 109.9 7.9 29.7 .204 .291 .241 .257 .308 32.6 27.0 8.5 2.37 2.70
2023 32 1253 187 17 9.1 5.7 87.9 116.7 11.1 33.7 .246 .425 .359 .329 .405 41.7 26.5 9.7 5.08 4.61
2024 33 683 119 12 10.1 7.3 89.8 110.7 11.3 36.1 .269 .467 .352 .364 .373 42.0 14.0 11.6 4.70 5.78
Player 7448 1205 79 6.6 4.3 86.6 116.7 10.3 32.4 .240 .385 .331 .313 .361 33.1 22.8 10.2
MLB 7.0 4.8 88.5 122.4 12.3 33.2 .245 .405 .316 .315 .368 36.5 22.2 8.4
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Statcast Pitch Arsenal

Montero relies on 4 pitches.
Four Seamer
(45.8%) ,
Sinker
(23.4%) ,
Changeup
(23.3%) ,
Slider
(7.5%) ,


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Pitch Tracking



Batted Ball Profile

Season GB % FB % LD % PU % Pull % Straight % Oppo % Weak % Topped % Under % Flare/Burner % Solid % Barrel % Barrel/PA
2015 50.0 25.0 21.4 3.6 42.9 35.7 21.4 7.1 42.9 17.9 21.4 3.6 3.6 2.2
2016 36.8 24.6 36.8 1.8 36.8 26.3 36.8 3.5 24.6 19.3 31.6 7.0 7.0 4.3
2017 49.7 20.6 23.1 6.6 33.5 40.9 25.5 6.9 34.6 21.2 25.0 4.9 4.1 2.7
2019 40.3 27.8 26.4 5.6 36.1 34.7 29.2 5.6 31.9 26.4 20.8 1.4 13.9 8.8
2020 28.9 28.9 28.9 13.3 33.3 42.2 24.4 11.1 15.6 28.9 24.4 4.4 15.6 9.7
2021 55.9 19.3 19.9 5.0 42.2 36.6 21.1 5.6 41.6 19.3 23.6 5.0 5.0 3.6
2022 52.9 18.0 23.3 5.8 37.2 34.3 28.5 7.0 37.2 21.5 25.6 5.8 2.9 1.9
2023 40.6 27.3 26.2 5.9 38.5 38.0 23.5 6.4 29.9 23.0 24.1 7.0 9.1 5.7
2024 42.9 26.1 26.1 5.0 40.3 31.1 28.6 2.5 31.1 26.1 23.5 6.7 10.1 7.3
Player 47.0 22.7 24.5 5.9 37.2 36.8 26.0 6.1 33.7 22.2 24.6 5.4 6.6 4.3
MLB 44.4 23.8 24.7 7.1 37.2 37.5 25.2 3.9 32.6 24.8 24.4 5.9 7.0 4.8
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Pitch Movement


How this works: This section shows two different ways to evaluate pitch movement. On the left, “Total Movement” shows the real-world movement of a pitch, including the forces of gravity, which affects every pitch thrown. Since gravity requires time, and slower pitches aren't 'better' just because they have more time to move, a pitch's movement is compared to other pitches of the same pitch type, within +/- 2 MPH and +/- 0.5 feet of extension/release. On the right, Induced Movement (or IVB) is reported without gravity, and attempts to isolate movement created by the pitcher's ability to spin and manipulate the ball.
Total Movement (in inches, w/ gravity)Induced Movement (in inches, w/o gravity)
YearPitchTeamHand#MPHVertical
Drop
vs.
Comparable
Horizontal
Break
vs.
Comparable
Vertical
Break
vs. AvgHorizontal
Break
vs. Avg
2024 Slider HOU R 51 86.2 36.3 0.9 8.1GLV 2.9 0.6 1.0 8.1GLV 3.0
2024 4-Seam Fastball HOU R 313 95.4 14.5 1.5 11.0ARM 1.5 15.7 -0.1 11.0ARM 3.5
2024 Changeup HOU R 159 91.0 27.5 -2.9 17.1ARM 1.4 5.7 -0.8 17.1ARM 2.9
2024 Sinker HOU R 160 94.8 22.0 -2.5 16.0ARM 0.2 8.5 -1.2 16.0ARM 1.2
2023 4-Seam Fastball HOU R 615 96.1 14.2 1.2 9.1ARM -0.4 15.6 -0.2 9.1ARM 1.7
2023 Slider HOU R 176 88.3 30.9 -1.8 5.3GLV 0.6 4.2 -2.7 5.3GLV 0.0
2023 Changeup HOU R 279 91.5 27.1 -2.6 16.4ARM 0.5 5.8 -0.4 16.4ARM 2.0
2023 Sinker HOU R 183 95.5 21.6 -2.8 16.2ARM 0.1 8.5 -0.9 16.2ARM 1.2
! Note: Years are in reverse order.

Run Values by Pitch Type

Year Pitch Type Team RV/100 Run Value Pitches % PA BA SLG wOBA Whiff% K% PutAway % xBA xSLG xwOBA Hard Hit %
2024 4-Seam Fastball -0.3 -1 313 45.8 51 .227 .591 .387 24.6 15.7 8.5 .229 .471 .351 47.2
2024 Sinker 3.3 5 160 23.4 56 .174 .196 .260 10.8 19.6 20.4 .203 .312 .307 40.0
2024 Changeup -2.6 -4 159 23.3 49 .273 .409 .340 12.2 8.2 7.4 .338 .555 .403 34.1
2024 Slider -8.2 -4 51 7.5 8 .714 1.714 .969 23.5 0.0 0.0 .510 .911 .616 71.4
2023 4-Seam Fastball 0.3 2 615 49.1 127 .227 .427 .334 34.9 35.4 22.2 .218 .435 .330 49.2
2023 Changeup -1.2 -3 279 22.3 87 .299 .416 .357 29.2 20.7 17.1 .235 .315 .286 38.3
2023 Sinker -2.0 -4 183 14.6 55 .308 .596 .406 17.0 18.2 22.7 .290 .581 .384 35.7
2023 Slider -3.9 -7 176 14.0 29 .385 .654 .500 32.3 20.7 10.7 .316 .409 .354 40.0
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
! Note: To better align with other values, positive numbers (red) are good, and negative numbers (blue) are poor.

Spin Direction

Year Pitch Type Pitches MPH Active Spin % Total Movement (In.) Spin-Based Observed Deviation
2024 Changeup 153 91.0 94 18.7 1:45 2:30 -45
2024 4-Seam Fastball 311 95.4 91 19.0 1:30 1:15 15
2024 Sinker 159 94.8 87 18.5 1:15 2:15 -60
2024 Slider 50 86.2 29 9.2 9:45 8:45 60
2023 Changeup 274 91.5 92 17.9 1:45 2:30 -45
2023 4-Seam Fastball 608 96.1 89 17.8 1:15 1:00 15
2023 Sinker 179 95.5 85 18.7 1:15 2:15 -60
2023 Slider 174 88.3 29 7.3 10:45 9:45 60
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
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! Note: This table is showing data from the PITCHER perspective.
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Pitcher Arm Angle

! Note: Data is available from 2020 through the present.
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Swing/Take

Runs
Year Team PA Pitches Heart Shadow Chase Waste All
2014 194 836 0 6 -5 -3 -2
2015 43 180 -1 4 -2 -2 0
2016 92 384 1 -1 -3 -2 -6
2017 544 2,215 6 14 -20 -9 -9
2019 113 459 5 3 0 -1 7
2020 72 289 2 0 -2 -2 -1
2021 224 872 2 2 -9 -4 -10
2022 307 1,264 9 18 -9 -3 14
2023 319 1,346 -3 7 -13 -4 -13
2024 164 683 4 2 -7 -3 -4
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Plate Discipline

Season Pitches Zone % Zone Swing % Zone Contact % Chase % Chase Contact % Edge % 1st Pitch Strike % Swing % Whiff % Meatball % Meatball Swing %
2015 192 37.0 74.6 81.1 33.1 70.0 40.6 50.0 48.4 21.5 5.2 90.0
2016 388 39.9 63.9 77.8 22.3 69.2 42.5 60.2 38.9 24.5 5.2 70.0
2017 2,219 46.4 66.4 78.9 27.7 64.7 45.4 63.7 45.6 24.2 5.7 72.4
2019 459 44.7 65.4 79.1 31.9 55.6 45.5 65.5 46.8 29.8 5.9 92.6
2020 289 51.9 69.3 76.9 20.1 67.9 50.9 65.3 45.7 25.0 4.2 75.0
2021 872 47.6 72.3 81.3 30.6 65.7 45.8 64.4 50.5 23.2 7.0 83.6
2022 1,093 44.6 65.2 73.9 30.6 67.6 48.4 61.9 46.0 28.2 6.3 76.8
2023 1,253 45.3 72.3 73.7 29.9 62.0 47.9 61.4 49.1 30.1 5.2 83.1
2024 683 42.2 70.1 87.6 26.8 71.7 45.4 55.5 45.1 17.9 4.8 81.8
Player 7,448 45.2 68.4 78.3 28.6 65.3 46.2 62.1 46.6 25.5 5.7 78.8
MLB 48.7 67.0 82.0 28.5 57.8 42.6 61.0 47.2 25.0 7.3 76.3
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Percentile Rankings

Year xwOBA /
xERA
xBA xSLG xISO xOBP Brl Brl% EV Hard
Hit%
K% BB% Whiff% Chase
Rate
FB
Velo
FB
Spin
CB
Spin
Extension
2015 45 85 32
2016 52 74 46
2017 40 45 69 82 14 47 84 96 96 41 6 49 54 61 65 47
2019 84 52 34
2020 82 51 31
2021 75 60 87 95 58 90 89 87 83 17 60 26 76 81 51 39
2022 90 85 94 96 80 97 99 91 88 75 40 69 62 86 69 31
2023 31 46 32 31 39 52 29 73 31 74 31 77 63 83 72 33
2024 69 81 27
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Expected Home Runs

Adjusted

Year Team Avg HR Trot Actual HR xHR HR-xHR Doubters Mostly Gone No Doubters No Doubter %
2016 23.1 4 3.2 1 3 3 1 25.0
2017 21.5 12 12.5 -1 9 10 4 33.3
2019 23.9 5 4.3 1 4 2 2 40.0
2020 23.4 2 2.5 -1 0 3 1 50.0
2021 24.1 4 5.3 -1 2 5 2 50.0
2022 24.8 4 2.9 1 7 2 1 25.0
2023 23.7 11 13.2 -2 3 11 4 36.4
2024 24.2 8 6.9 1 3 6 2 25.0
Player 23.3 50 50.8 -1 31 42 17 34.0
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
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Expected Home Runs by Park

Adjusted

Year HR
2016 4 4 1 5 3 2 3 4 2 2 2 3 4 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 4 2 6 4 3 4 3 5 4 4 3
2017 12 12 12 13 14 14 14 12 10 10 13 20 9 11 14 12 10 12 12 13 11 13 15 13 10 12 12 16 13 13 11
2019 5 7 2 4 4 5 5 7 3 2 4 4 6 3 4 5 4 4 3 4 6 3 6 5 5 4 3 4 7 4 2
2020 2 3 2 2 2 4 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 4 3 2 2 3 2 4 2 1
2021 4 7 5 5 6 5 7 5 3 4 4 6 5 4 6 4 4 5 7 6 5 4 8 4 5 5 7 6 5 4 7
2022 4 1 4 4 2 3 4 2 1 1 1 5 5 3 1 4 3 2 2 2 2 3 5 3 3 2 4 6 3 3 2
2023 11 13 9 14 14 12 14 14 10 11 13 12 11 13 15 16 16 12 15 15 14 13 16 16 12 11 13 14 15 13 10
2024 8 4 3 8 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 8 9 5 7 7 6 6 7 9 8 6 9 10 6 7 7 7 8 7 5
Player 50 51 38 55 52 52 56 54 37 38 44 60 52 44 52 54 48 46 52 55 54 47 69 58 46 47 52 60 59 50 41
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
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Year to Year Changes

Metric 2015 2016 +/-   2017 +/-   2018 +/-   2019 +/-   2020 +/-   2021 +/-   2022 +/-   2023 +/-   2024 +/-  
Fastball Velocity 92.4 93.1 0.7 -- 0.5 -- -- 95.8 -- 95.4 -0.4 95.5 0.1 96.2 0.7 95.9 -0.3 95.2 -0.7
Offspeed Velocity 84.7 85.8 1.1 -- 2.2 -- -- 89.9 -- 89.1 -0.8 89.7 0.6 91.1 1.4 91.5 0.4 91.0 -0.5
Breaking Velocity 81.2 83.7 2.5 -- 0.1 -- -- 85.1 -- 85.7 0.6 85.7 0.0 87.9 2.2 88.3 0.4 86.2 -2.1
Exit Velocity 88.1 86.5 -1.6 -- -1.9 -- -- 87.3 -- 88.2 0.9 86.7 -1.5 86.3 -0.4 87.9 1.6 89.8 1.9
Launch Angle 5.0 13.5 8.5 -- -3.1 -- -- 13.7 -- 23.0 9.3 5.9 -17.1 7.9 2.0 11.1 3.2 11.3 0.2
Barrel % 3.6 7.0 3.4 -- -2.9 -- -- 13.9 -- 15.6 1.7 5.0 -10.6 2.9 -2.1 9.1 6.2 10.1 1.0
Hard Hit % 28.6 31.6 3.0 -- -6.3 -- -- 30.6 -- 44.4 13.8 34.2 -10.2 32.6 -1.6 41.7 9.1 42.0 0.3
LA Sweet-Spot % 28.6 36.8 8.2 -- -6.0 -- -- 34.7 -- 44.4 9.7 29.8 -14.6 29.7 -0.1 33.7 4.0 36.1 2.4
xBA .180 .291 0.111 -- -0.041 -- -- .233 -- .241 0.008 .231 -0.010 .204 -0.027 .246 0.042 .269 0.023
BA .225 .299 0.074 -- 0.007 -- -- .217 -- .190 -0.027 .296 0.106 .193 -0.103 .279 0.086 .248 -0.031
xwOBA .219 .391 0.172 -- -0.071 -- -- .311 -- .339 0.028 .289 -0.050 .257 -0.032 .329 0.072 .364 0.035
wOBA .265 .408 0.143 -- -0.049 -- -- .283 -- .283 0.000 .340 0.057 .241 -0.099 .359 0.118 .352 -0.007
xSLG .270 .487 0.217 -- -0.113 -- -- .458 -- .475 0.017 .329 -0.146 .291 -0.038 .425 0.134 .467 0.042
SLG .350 .545 0.195 -- -0.107 -- -- .406 -- .381 -0.025 .422 0.041 .267 -0.155 .479 0.212 .461 -0.018
K% 28.3 21.5 -6.8 -- -0.8 -- -- 30.1 -- 26.4 -3.7 18.7 -7.7 27.0 8.3 26.5 -0.5 14.0 -12.5
BB% 10.9 17.2 6.3 -- -5.0 -- -- 4.4 -- 8.3 3.9 7.6 -0.7 8.5 0.9 9.7 1.2 11.6 1.9
Swing % 48.4 38.9 -9.5 -- 6.7 -- -- 46.8 -- 45.7 -1.1 50.5 4.8 46.0 -4.5 49.1 3.1 45.1 -4.0
Whiff% 21.5 24.5 3.0 -- -0.3 -- -- 29.8 -- 25.0 -4.8 23.2 -1.8 28.2 5.0 30.1 1.9 17.9 -12.2
In Zone % 37.0 39.9 2.9 -- 6.5 -- -- 44.7 -- 51.9 7.2 47.6 -4.3 44.6 -3.0 45.3 0.7 42.2 -3.1
Out of Zone % 63.0 60.1 -2.9 -- -6.5 -- -- 55.3 -- 48.1 -7.2 52.4 4.3 55.4 3.0 54.7 -0.7 57.8 3.1
Out of Zone Swing % 33.1 22.3 -10.8 -- 5.4 -- -- 31.9 -- 20.1 -11.8 30.6 10.5 30.6 0.0 29.9 -0.7 26.8 -3.1
First Pitch Swing % 23.9 26.9 3.0 -- 5.2 -- -- 30.1 -- 22.2 -7.9 38.2 16.0 30.7 -7.5 39.3 8.6 29.9 -9.4
First Pitch Strike % 50.0 60.2 10.2 -- 3.5 -- -- 65.5 -- 65.3 -0.2 64.4 -0.9 61.9 -2.5 61.4 -0.5 55.5 -5.9
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Statcast Fielder Positioning

vs RHHvs LHH
YearAlignment TypePAwOBAPATotal%PATotal%
2016 Shifts 89 .403 52 0 0.0 37 4 10.8
2017 Shifts 543 .356 278 8 2.9 265 30 11.3
2019 Shifts 113 .283 57 13 22.8 56 30 53.6
2020 Shifts 71 .287 37 5 13.5 34 14 41.2
2021 Shifts 224 .340 136 38 27.9 88 53 60.2
2022 Shifts 264 .241 135 38 28.1 129 99 76.7
2023 Shades 298 .359 147 7 4.8 151 81 53.6
2024 Shades 161 .358 79 24 30.4 82 37 45.1
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field.
Learn more about how positioning is defined here

Pitch Tempo

Bases EmptyRunners On Base
SeasonTeamPitchesTempoFast %Slow %PitchesTempoFast %Slow %
2014 245 17.0 26.9% 1.2% 159 23.7 0.0% 11.9%
2015 44 18.0 15.9% 4.5% 34 23.1 14.7% 11.8%
2016 115 17.9 16.5% 0.0% 65 24.5 0.0% 15.4%
2017 580 17.1 29.1% 1.6% 436 22.4 0.2% 10.3%
2019 157 18.4 15.3% 1.3% 62 23.7 0.0% 6.5%
2020 81 20.8 1.2% 1.2% 55 26.4 0.0% 20.0%
2021 198 18.9 11.1% 3.0% 180 25.0 0.0% 19.4%
2022 336 20.0 7.4% 3.0% 182 26.0 0.0% 22.0%
2023 309 16.3 25.9% 0.0% 225 21.1 0.0% 2.2%
2024 185 15.4 45.4% 0.5% 119 19.1 0.0% 0.0%

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Pitch Distribution