Mike Montgomery

With Anthony Gose battling shoulder tendonitis, Montgomery has emerged as the top high school lefthander in an unusually deep and talented Southern California crop. He's a Cal State Fullerton recruit who would benefit by studying under coach Dave Serrano, but his strong spring likely means he won't make it to college. That was despite some makeup questions about the athletic Montgomery, who was kicked off the Hart High basketball team for racking up too many technical fouls. Montgomery was the team's top scorer at 20 points per game, and at 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds, he has a long, athletic build that attracts scouts. So does his fastball, which sits in the 88-92 mph range and peaks at 94. His high quality secondary offerings include a sharp, if slow, 71-72 mph curveball and a 79-81 mph changeup with sudden late drop. Montgomery will need to correct a series of subtle mechanical deficiencies that tend to impede his command, but when those problems are solved, he profiles as a middle-of-the-rotation starter. He was rising up draft boards as June approached as he showed a feel for pitching, rather than trying to just blow high school hitters way. He does an excellent job of mixing pitches, changing speeds, setting hitters up and finishing them off.