Miguel Montero

2013

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2012

No catcher drove in more runs than Montero in 2011 and there's reason to believe that he'll rank near the top in that category again in 2012, as 444 of his at-bats came from the middle-third of the Arizona lineup and that placement is unlikely to change in the near future. Further, Montero showed no signs of slowing down the stretch with an .853 OPS after the All-Star break in a season where he played in 140 games. At 28, Montero is in his prime and with the opportunity to play half of his games at hitter-friendly Chase Field, he's as safe as any player at his position. The only blemish here was a .195/.260/.274 line against southpaws, but he's shown competence against them in the past.

2011

Montero is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2010 season that was slowed by a torn meniscus he suffered in April. In his recovery from that injury, Montero regained the 10 pounds that he had worked off during the winter, and he believes that having the extra weight negatively impacted his performance upon return. Although his numbers at the plate regressed a bit with a drop in his contact rate (down to 76 percent from 82 in 2009), Montero was much better defensively behind the plate and made a point to improve his arm. It remains to be seen how much of his offensive slide can be attributed to the injury, but at age 27 he's entering his power peak and a 20-homer campaign may still be in the cards.

2010

Montero had become a mainstay on preseason sleeper lists for the last couple of seasons before the D-Backs signed Chris Snyder to a contract extension in December of 2008. Two things happened that changed everything for Montero; the D-Backs fired Bob Melvin, and Snyder suffered a back injury in June that never really healed, giving Montero a long run as the primary backstop. His offensive skills have always made him a coveted trade target for opposing teams, but Montero's defensive work finally caught up to his bat. All signs point to another 400-450 at-bats for Montero this season, and that number could increase if Snyder is traded before the end of spring training. Don't be surprised if he continues to hover around .300 with his average while delivering 15-20 homers this season.

2009

Despite being hailed as the franchise's catcher of the future, Montero slipped into the backup role behind Chris Snyder last season, gathering just 184 at-bats along the way. At 25, it's too early to write him off completely, especially when the D-Backs have publicly stated that they're considering using him at third base just to get his bat into the lineup more regularly, but it's entirely possible that he'll be shopped to clubs in need of a starter behind the plate during the offseason. Like Snyder, Montero has 15-20 home-run power, but he's actually got a much better track record of success at the plate. We still wouldn't be surprised to see him battle his way back into a timeshare -- or earn enough playing time at another position to merit consideration in leagues that require two active backstops, but he'll need to outproduce Snyder for manager Bob Melvin to justify a change in roles.

2008

Chris Snyder may have earned the larger portion of the timeshare behind the plate for Arizona, but Montero showed plenty of upside at the plate, homering once in every 21.4 at-bats during his first full season in the majors. Don't be completely scared away by his .224/.292/.397 line, as the low average is tied more to bad luck (.225 BABIP) than it is poor plate discipline (20:35 BB:K ratio). Given that Snyder struggled against righties (.215 AVG), look for Montero to get more playing time in his second full season with the Diamondbacks.

2007

The D'backs have paved the way for Montero, who drew walks and hit for power at two levels last year, by trading Johnny Estrada. His strikeout rate is going to keep his batting average down, and he's had a pattern of slow starts after promotions, so there's a good chance 2007 will involve a couple of trips across the state of Arizona.

2006

Montero could be Arizona's catcher-of-the-future. After a great stint at High-A in 2005, he earned an invite to the Futures Game. He was promoted to Double-A in August and struggled initially at that level. He'll likely start 2006 back at Double-A and won't be expected to nail down a job with the big club until 2007 or 2008.