Lazaro Montes has that Power

Lazaro Montes is not a finished product. He will tell you that with his numbers. A .235 batting average. Sixty-six strikeouts in 55 games. The questions about the hit tool are real and they are not going away.

But here is what is also real.

Montes has 17 home runs in 55 games at Double-A Arkansas. He is doing it in the most pitcher-friendly park in the Texas League. He is doing it against the best arms Double-A has to offer. And he is doing it as a 21-year-old who signed out of Cuba for $2.5 million in 2022 and has been on a straight line upward ever since.

Five home runs in his last six games. Ten for 25 in a recent series at Corpus Christi. He launched an 118 mph exit velocity laser earlier this season that had scouts at Dickey-Stephens Park looking at each other. This is not a guy getting lucky. This is a 6-foot-5, 210-pound left-handed bat making hard contact at a rate most minor leaguers never touch.

He trained under the same hitting instructor who developed Yordan Alvarez. That is not a coincidence. It is a blueprint.

The strikeouts matter. But a .345 on-base percentage says he is drawing walks and understanding the zone. An .885 OPS at one of the toughest parks in Double-A says the power is not a projection anymore.

It is already here.

The Rising Star

Bo Davidson, OF, Richmond Flying Squirrels (Double-A, Giants)

Nobody drafted Bo Davidson. He signed as a non-drafted free agent out of junior college in North Carolina, earned the nickname "JUCO Barry Bonds," and has been making people look silly ever since. The Giants' No. 6 prospect just became the first player in Flying Squirrels history to homer in four straight games, going deep five times in six games this month with eight RBI. He has 11 home runs in 44 games on the season with a .500 slugging percentage. The power was always the calling card. He is delivering on it at Double-A.

Under the Radar

Jaron DeBerry, RHP, Biloxi Shuckers (Double-A, Brewers)

The ERA is 4.31. The story is more interesting than that. DeBerry has 58 strikeouts in 54.1 innings and hitters are batting just .194 against him. The 2024 third-round pick out of Dallas Baptist has been wildly inconsistent -- a few blowup outings inflated his numbers -- but when he is locked in nobody is touching him. He just threw the 11th complete game shutout in Biloxi franchise history, carrying a no-hit bid into the fifth inning. Over his last four starts he has a 2.77 ERA and a .133 opponents average. The stuff is there.

Worth Watching

Ryan Sloan, RHP, Arkansas Travelers (Double-A, Mariners)

The ERA says 5.09. Ignore it for a second. Sloan is 20 years old in his first full Double-A season and has 51 strikeouts in 40.2 innings. The early numbers were bloated by a rough stretch where the walks piled up and the damage followed. Since then he has allowed four earned runs in 19.2 innings and just threw six perfect innings with 11 strikeouts on 61 pitches to win Texas League Pitcher of the Week. The fastball sits mid-90s and touches 98. The command is catching up to the stuff.

Alfonsin Rosario, OF | Akron RubberDucks to Triple-A Columbus (Guardians)

Rosario came into 2026 with one of the best power-speed combinations in the Guardians system and a strikeout rate that was keeping him from living up to it. The contact was the question mark. It is not anymore.

Over his last eight games he is hitting .467/.526 with three home runs, six doubles, and 13 RBI. His season OPS sits at .886 across 38 games. Nine home runs, six stolen bases, and 17 walks tell you the tools are all showing up at once. The 21-year-old is running out of things to prove in Akron. Triple-A Columbus is the next call.

The Arkansas Travelers Are Very Much Worth Paying Attention To

The Arkansas Travelers sit second in the Texas League behind a Tulsa team that is hard to beat right now. But do not sleep on Arkansas.

Kade Anderson and Lazaro Montes get most of the attention and both deserve a Triple-A conversation soon. But the depth is what makes this roster interesting. Caleb Cali has 13 home runs and an .842 OPS in 51 games. Hunter Fitz-Gerald has 12 home runs and an .849 OPS at first base. Charlie Pagliarini is posting an .864 OPS with solid plate discipline. Charlie Beilenson is quietly putting together a 1.63 ERA out of the bullpen with 37 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.

Argument could be made they are the most talented roster in the Texas League. The standings are close enough that it is hard to argue otherwise.

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Thumbnail photo from: sports.mynorthwest.com