The Havanese Lázaro Montes made history this Saturday by hitting his 37th home run of the season with the Tacoma Rainiers, matching the highest number of home runs by a Cuban in Minor Leagues since 1959, according to journalist Francys Romero.
The hit, which traveled 414 feet and came off the bat at 107.8 miles per hour, occurred against the Sacramento River Cats in a game that Tacoma won 15-11.
With that figure, the prospect of the Seattle Mariners matched the record set by Juan Francisco "Pancho" Herrera 67 years ago with the Buffalo Bisons in the International League, when he won the Triple Crown and the Most Valuable Player title of that league with a batting average of .329, 37 home runs, and 128 runs batted in.
Montes, at just 21 years old, did not stop at the home run: he finished the game with 3 hits in 3 at-bats, added two walks, scored three runs, and drove in one, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances for the first time in his professional career.
It was also his twelfth home run since being promoted to Triple-A at the beginning of July, which shows that his power does not diminish against higher-level pitchers.
In the entire 2026 season, the left-hander has accumulated 37 home runs, 93 runs batted in, and an OPS of .941, numbers that establish him as one of the most dangerous hitters in the Minor League system.
Throughout his career in the Minors, Montes has already totaled 113 home runs, a figure that reflects the consistency of his performance since he signed with Seattle in January 2022 for 2.5 million dollars as an international free agent.
The rise of the player from Havana has been rapid. By 2025, he was already leading the Minor Leagues in home runs with 21 home runs at the end of the first half of that year, and this 2026 has marked a qualitative leap that positions him in direct conversation with the major league team.
MLB Pipeline currently ranks him as the 43rd prospect overall and third within the Mariners' system, a position that fuels the anticipation of a quick call-up to the Major Leagues.
Analyst Francys Romero accurately summarized the moment: "Montes is in the midst of a historic campaign, getting ever closer to promotion to the Major Leagues with the Seattle Mariners."
The question that grows with each hit is how much longer the young player from Havana will have to wait to wear the Mariners uniform in the Major Leagues.
Related videos:
Filed under: