SAN DIEGO — Frankie Montas pitched his first minor league rehab game for Double-A Tulsa on Sunday. The right-hander allowed one run in two innings on a solo home run. He also walked one batter and struck out two.
How was his velocity, you ask?
Frankie Montas making his 2016 debut for Tulsa. His first two fastballs clocked in at 98 mph.
— Jared Massey (@JaredJMassey) May 22, 2016
Montas' third pitch of the 2nd inning touched 100 mph according to the NW Arkansas' broadcaster.
— Jared Massey (@JaredJMassey) May 22, 2016
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reiterated Sunday that Montas will build up his innings on a starter’s plan. If the Dodgers need a reliever on June 4 when he’s eligible to be activated, “then we’ll make that decision.”
In the next two weeks, Montas can theoretically start twice more on an every-fifth-day rotation, even if the Dodgers choose to transfer his rehab to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Hyun-Jin Ryu is adding an inning to his start each time and Montas could build up to four innings by June 4 if he does the same.
However, Ryu figures to be ready to join the rotation around the same time barring a setback. And the Dodgers’ bullpen needs more help by comparison. As a unit, they have struggled to strand inherited runners (35 percent of them score, 12th in the NL), preserve close games prior to the ninth inning (Kenley Jansen is 13-for-14 in save situations; everyone else is 0-for-6), and generally give Roberts any easy choices defining roles in middle relief. A monkey throwing darts would target Montas for a bullpen job, unless the darts accidentally punctured the UCL of every starting pitcher in the Dodgers’ rotation.
Montas pitched as a starter and a reliever in the Chicago White Sox organization before he was traded to the Dodgers last December as part of a three-team trade. Montas had rib resection surgery near his right shoulder in February and hadn’t pitched outside of extended spring training before Sunday.
