The career path for
Mark Montgomery took an upward swing when Scott Lovekamp, a scout for the New York Yankees, saw the right-hander pitch in the Coastal Plains League All-Star game the summer before Montgomery's junior year at Longwood.
The Yankees' scout was impressed with his one inning of work and made a mental note to keep tabs on the pitcher, since Longwood was less than 90 minutes from his home in Lynchburg. In January of 2011, Lovekamp made the trip to Farmville to see Montgomery pitch in a scrimmage and talk with him.
“The first time he saw me was in the Coastal Plains League All-Star game. Then he came to Longwood for scout day and he talked to me on the side,” Montgomery said. “That is when I figured the Yankees were interested.”
Montgomery had pitched very little at Bruton High in Williamsburg and came to Longwood as a freshman position player who saw action mostly at shortstop, and even in the outfield. But once Lovekamp began to scout Montgomery, his future was indeed on the mound at a higher level than Division I.
“The coaches let me on the field and I was impressed from the start,” said Lovekamp, a former pitching coach for the Altoona (PA) Curve, a farm team of the Pirates, in the Eastern League. “I liked his makeup and his background. I liked his delivery. He looked like a big league reliever and it was backed up by his performance.”
Montgomery was drafted by the Yankees in the 11th round after his junior year with the Lancers in 2011. A little over one year later, Montgomery finished the 2012 minor league season with some eye-popping statistics with Class AA Trenton – two steps below Yankee Stadium – and in early October will head to the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League.
“He has a power arm,” Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman told Baseball America, which tabbed Montgomery as the best pitcher in the New York farm system in 2012. “He could be in the big leagues as early as next year.”
What will Montgomery take away from the 2012 season, in which he had a combined ERA of 1.54 with a record of 7-2 and 15 saves between Class A Tampa of the Florida State League and Class AA Trenton of the Eastern League?
“Just being around some of the older guys,” he said in late September. “They definitely helped me mature in situations and getting comfortable playing in front of a lot of fans (at Trenton). I was more comfortable later in the games. I think I had a good year. I feel like I can build on it.”
His numbers were amazing: 99 strikeouts and 22 walks in 64.1 innings, as he allowed just 35 hits (and only one homer, by future Oriole Manny Machado) and held opponents to an average of .157.
“Mark is among the most mentally tough players that I have had,” said Buddy Bolding, the veteran Longwood head coach. “His will to make himself better was a driving force in his success.”
Bolding has followed the pro career of Montgomery and gets reports from those in the Yankee organization. “Mark has made tremendous strides. He has the raw talent” to make the majors, Bolding said. “He has the determination to see it through.”
The New York player development office includes Mark Newman, the Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations. Newman is the former head coach at Old Dominion University and used to play against Longwood when he was with the Monarchs.
Montgomery throws a fastball in the low 90s with a devastating slider in the low-to-mid 80s. “He is a really good athlete. He was a shortstop in college,” Lovekamp said. “He is very committed, very disciplined and very serious about his career. He can lock in and take it very seriously.”
The 5-foot-11 right-hander fanned five batters in one inning while with low Class A Charleston in 2011 as catcher Gary Sanchez had trouble handing his slider.
Montgomery, 22, began this season as the No. 23 prospect in the New York system, according to industry leader Baseball America. There is a good bet that rating will be much higher when the new rankings come out prior to the 2013 season.
He made the Florida State League All-Star game with Tampa in 2012 and was then promoted to Class AA Trenton on July 19 after he had 14 saves with Tampa.
He allowed just two baserunners (one hit, one walk) in his first eight scoreless innings for Trenton. He then gave up a two-run homer to Machado, one of the top prospects in baseball in the Orioles' farm system, in an 8-7 loss on August 4 against the Bowie Baysox.
Montgomery was recruited by Longwood as a shortstop. He was a two-way player as a freshman, but then made the move to pitching on a full-time basis as a sophomore.
He had an impressive pro debut, as he was 0-0 with an ERA of 2.25 in four games with Staten Island in the New York-Penn League in 2011. Montgomery was then promoted to Charleston (SC) of the low Class A South Atlantic League, where he was 0-0 with an ERA of 1.85 in 22 games out of the bullpen with 14 saves.
In 2011 he allowed just 20 hits in 28 innings, and had 51 strikeouts and 13 walks, holding opposing hitters to an average of .185, which is far below the average.
Montgomery earned his first Eastern League save July 29, 2012 against Harrisburg, as he locked up a win for Joba Chamberlain, who has big league experience with the Yankees.
Montgomery, who worked out with the Longwood program the weekend of Sept. 21-23, said he was slated to head to Tampa in late Sept. and throw some side sessions before leaving October 4 for the Arizona Fall League, which runs until late November and attracts some of the top prospects in the game. He will play for the Scottsdale Scorpions.
“Any role they put me in I will be happy to do,” said Montgomery, who was used as a setup man during his time with Trenton.
His slider is a pitch that could be effective at higher levels. “It is something that I tinkered with,” said Montgomery, who had a 12-to-6 curve in high school.
Trenton, which drew some of the top crowds in the Eastern League, lost in the championship series in Sept. to Akron, a farm team of Cleveland. “It was definitely a shell shock to go from Tampa, where you get about 100 fans a game. The fans were definitely die-hard,” he said of Trenton. “It was pretty crazy. But it was just another step up the ladder.”
The next step up the ladder in the New York system is Scranton/Wilkes Barre in the Class AAA International League, the last stop before Yankee Stadium.
Montgomery is bidding to become the second former Longwood player to make The Show. The first was Michael Tucker, a South Boston native, who was the 10th overall pick in the 1992 draft and played in the big leagues from 1995 to 2006. The outfielder had 125 career homers and hit .256 in 1417 games.
When Montgomery was a Longwood sophomore he got to see Tucker. Perhaps one day Montgomery will become the second Longwood product to make the majors. “I think it is realistic. I will continue to work every day. Hopefully I will get my shot,” he said.
The Williamsburg product is looking forward to the 2013 season. “I will go in and compete, and continue to do what I am doing. I have full trust in the Yankees that they will put me in the best position to succeed,” he said.
Editor's Note: Special consultant David Driver is a Virginia native and has covered college sports in the state for more than 20 years. He has been a staff writer for newspapers in Arlington, Springfield and Harrisonburg and has contributed to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Washington Post, Stafford County Sun and The Potomac News in Woodbridge. He was also the first sports editor for the daily Baltimore Examiner. He will continue contributing special feature content to longwoodlancers.com throughout the upcoming 2012-13 academic year as well. A former Division III baseball player at Eastern Mennonite University, David can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com.
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