Hot Coco helps Isotopes to a sizzling start, including Tuesday night win – Albuquerque Journal
What can you say about Coco Montes?
That he’s maybe a little quiet. A calm voice that never wavers. Deliberate when he speaks.
Not one to say anything out of place – if at all.
“He doesn’t say much,” Isotopes manager Pedro Lopez said with a smile. “Even his jokes are really mellow. He’s not loud, by no means.”
Maybe that he’s never in a hurry. Steady no matter what’s going on, no matter what he’s doing.
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“Everything seems to be at the right pace,” hitting coach Jordan Pacheco said. “That, to me, is who Coco is: just a guy that puts it on 65, cruise control and he’ll get there when he gets there.”
In El Paso last week, Fernando Tatis Jr. had one of those weeks that’ll live on in the hearts of Chihuahua fans and the minds of opposing pitchers for some time: 14-for-20 with six homers in four games. Few go back to the big leagues in more style.
But it was Montes, Albuquerque’s reserved do-it-all infielder, who took home Pacific Coast League Player of the Week honors after going 11-for-26 with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and 12 RBIs.
After going 1-for-5 with a triple in Tuesday night’s 13-10 Isotopes win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers — the first of a six-game home series for Albuquerque — Montes was hitting .379/.461/.727 with four home runs, seven doubles and two triples. A relatively torrid start, a nice honor to boot.
“It was cool to have a good weekend, get recognized,” Montes said prior to the game. “But (the) important part, as always, we won the series. Which is nice. We did not do a lot of that last year.”
Things are a little different this year. Tuesday’s win moved the Isotopes to 10-6, four games over .500. Winners of two of their first three series, taking four from a Chihuahuas team with a Major League Baseball MVP candidate in the lineup on a rehab assignment.
And for an organization that’s steadfast in its belief the best way to develop players is by winning, that goes a long way. That a 15th-round MLB Draft pick is in the center of it all isn’t too surprising to those around him.
“(Montes has) got a quiet confidence about him,” Pacheco said. “Guys respect him. And when he goes to work, he’s working. It’s just a pleasure to watch.”
About the work. Montes started last offseason like a lot of guys, revisiting what worked and what didn’t throughout the year.
His overall plate discipline had improved and the numbers reflected as much. But his exit velocity, the speed of the bat as it comes off the bat, had suffered as a result.
Montes knew his EV was at his best when he got his hands set in a certain way, something he picked up in Double A Hartford. He went back to that without sacrificing any of his swinging cues.
The result?
Montes shrugged. “I think it’s going well so far,” he said.
Furthermore, there’s his defensive improvement. Montes split his time evenly last season between second base (36 starts), shortstop (36 starts) and third base (34 starts) and has played mostly at second this season. Lopez said they plan on getting Montes more reps at shortstop and maybe in the outfield.
“It’s my job as a professional to do that,” Montes said. “I don’t really try to look at too much (at) developing. I just think about preparation. Making sure I do what needs to be done – get my ground balls, work on my base running, my hitting, my plate discipline, all that stuff.”
“Coco handles Coco,” Pacheco said. “I just try to stay out of Coco’s way. I’ll throw him whatever. Whatever he needs me to do in the cage, that’s what we work on.”
Triple A, Pacheco said, is where the mental part of the game really catches guys on the rise. Players have to find a way to not just work, but do it the right way. Get off the “emotional roller coaster” and deal with what they can’t control.
“Most can’t at this level,” Pacheco said. “They gotta learn. They just gotta have the experience and go through it. Whereas, a guy like Coco, I feel he’s got that mental toughness to kind of be able to handle that.”
The same player and same approach every day. No matter what, it’ll be at his own pace.
“I think that’s what he does really well,” Pacheco said.
‘TOPES WEDNESDAY: Vs. Oklahoma City, 6:35 p.m., 610 AM/
95.9 FM
PROMOTION: 50-cent hot dog night
PROBABLES: Dodgers LHP Robbie Erlin (1-0, 6.75) vs. Isotopes RHP Jeff Criswell (1-2, 15.00)
TUESDAY: Nate Jones hit a second-inning grand slam, and Albuquerque outslugged Oklahoma City 13-10 in the opener of a six-game series. Oklahoma City catcher Hunter Feduccia went 5-for-5 and drove in five runs. (Box score: Albuquerque 13, Oklahoma City 10; updated PCL standings)
TRANSACTIONS: The parent Colorado Rockies on Tuesday recalled RHP Peter Lambert and optioned RHP Connor Seabold to the Isotopes. … The Rockies sent OF Randall Grichuk to Albuquerque Tuesday for a rehab assignment. He missed spring training after undergoing bilateral sports hernia surgery.