A’s Montas looks ‘pretty driven’
After being suspended for much of 2019, righthander seems to be in excellent shape
Frankie Montas (center) was 92 with a 2.70 ERA last year before he was suspended in late June after testing for a performanceenhancing drug that he said he unknowingly ingested.
A’s manager Bob Melvin has access to Twitter, so he was hardly surprised when Frankie Montas arrived at training camp in impressive baseball shape for a pitcher just off a threemonth layoff.
Montas started a Twitter account in April and uploaded videos during the shutdown of his training in Arizona: throwing off a mound, lifting weights, even taking a swing off a tee.
One video from late May showed the righthander hitting 100 mph on a pocket radar gun while pitching on a dirt mound in an indoor batting cage.
“One of my bullpens, I was like, ‘Let me see how hard I can throw,’ ” Montas said on a video call Saturday. “I’ve still got it.”
What the clip didn’t show: The catcher receiving the tripledigit heat was one of a group of high school players who Montas said helped during training sessions. Yes, high
school.
“He was pretty good,” Montas said, grinning. “I give him some credit.”
Able to maintain a seminormal throwing routine amid the layoff, Montas reported to Oakland ahead of some other starters and said he was throwing up to four simulated innings while training. A’s swingman Chris Bassitt said last week, “I think Montas could go and throw five innings right now if he wanted to.” Catcher Sean Murphy said after the A’s second pitchers’ and catchers’ workout that his hand was “pretty sore right now — most of that’s because of Frankie.”
“He found a way to keep himself ready,” Melvin said, “and I think part of that stems from not being able to contribute much in the second half last year. … He’s pretty driven at this point.”
Montas was one of the best starting pitchers in the American League for the first half of 2019, a potential AllStar Game starter, before he was suspended in late June for 80 games after testing for a performanceenhancing drug that he said he unknowingly ingested.
It derailed a breakout year. Melvin said it seemed Montas’ “talent found him” in the first half as he was 92 with a 2.70 ERA prior to the suspension. Away from the A’s, Montas trained at their Arizona facility knowing he might rejoin the team in the last week of the season. He returned to make one start, allowing one run in six innings in a win. Melvin said Montas made sure “he was ready for it.”
“The talent level has caught up and the confidence all at once kind of came together,” Melvin said. “You knew it was there. He throws in the mid to high90s with good breaking stuff. He’s the type of pitcher that can intimidate you a little bit. … This is as serious as he’s ever been, I think, in his career about where he needs to go.”
The prospect of having Montas in the rotation for a full season, albeit one now shortened to 60 games amid the coronavirus pandemic, is “one of the big reasons we feel good about our team this year,” Melvin said. The A’s, coming off backtoback 97win seasons, also envisioned adding touted lefthanders A.J. Puk and Jesús Luzardo to the rotation from Day 1; Luzardo is not yet in camp, however, after testing positive for the virus during the intake process.
Montas said balancing physical distancing and training during the shutdown was a priority as he is married with a child and his wife is pregnant. He said he and his wife discussed and agreed on his playing this season after MLB announced plans to resume.
“We were both like, hey, if you’re ready, you’ve been working hard, waiting for this to happen, so just go out there and compete and show them what you were working on,” Montas said.
One focus, Montas said, was playing with his slider to control and vary break on the pitch. He said he also feels “really good” with the splitfinger pitch he used to good effect last season. He will have to throw all pitches this season without the benefit of licking his fingers for grip — a habit Montas said he “always” does but is outlawed by MLB’s new health protocols.
“I’m trying to remember all the rules and … just follow everything,” Montas said. “It’s kind of hard. But we’re getting there.”