2022 Stats
W-L
5-2
ERA
2.37
WHIP
1.02
K
73
SV
14
2023 Projections
2023 Fantasy Outlook
A post-hype breakout at age 31? Montero was a surprising contributor to Houston's league-best bullpen, quickly establishing himself as the Astros setup man and backup closer after a phenomenal start to 2022. The right-hander added velocity to all four of his pitches, yielding excellent results across 68.1 innings. He posted career marks in saves (14), holds (23) and ERA (2.37) while ranking highly across most Statcast metrics. In particular, Montero's 2.9% barrel percentage was sixth-best in the league and within the 99th percentile. His well-timed outputs during a contract year earned him a 3-year, $34.5 million deal to return to Houston, where he will presumably pitch the eighth inning again and back up Ryan Pressly. Read Past Outlooks

Remaining in Houston
Montero signed a three-year, $34.5 million deal to return to the Astros on Saturday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Montero's emergence as a trustworthy high-leverage option helped the Astros to a World Series title. The veteran righty carried a career 5.18 ERA and 1.56 WHIP into last season but finished the year with a 2.37 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. He also saved a career-high 14 games. The Astros have fully bought into this new version of Montero and now have him under contract through the end of his age-34 season. He should remain in a setup role behind Ryan Pressly to start the year but could claim the closer job if Pressly struggles or gets injured.
Montero's emergence as a trustworthy high-leverage option helped the Astros to a World Series title. The veteran righty carried a career 5.18 ERA and 1.56 WHIP into last season but finished the year with a 2.37 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. He also saved a career-high 14 games. The Astros have fully bought into this new version of Montero and now have him under contract through the end of his age-34 season. He should remain in a setup role behind Ryan Pressly to start the year but could claim the closer job if Pressly struggles or gets injured.
Pitching Stats
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2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2022 MLB Game Log
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Minor League Game Log

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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
16
Last 10 Games
17
Last 5 Games
17
How many pitches does Rafael Montero generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Rafael Montero generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2020
-24%
BAA vs LHP
2022
-31%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2020vs Left | .199 | 53 | 26 | 44 | 6 | |||
Since 2020vs Right | .261 | 81 | 20 | 73 | 3 | |||
2022vs Left | .157 | 34 | 15 | 18 | 2 | |||
2022vs Right | .227 | 39 | 8 | 29 | 1 | |||
2021vs Left | .276 | 12 | 10 | 21 | 3 | |||
2021vs Right | .309 | 30 | 7 | 38 | 1 | |||
2020vs Left | .167 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||
2020vs Right | .207 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
-57%
ERA at Home
2022
-47%
ERA at Home
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2020Home | 2.67 | 1.00 | 81.0 | 9.2 | 2.3 | ||||
Since 2020Away | 6.24 | 1.54 | 53.1 | 8.6 | 4.2 | ||||
2022Home | 1.76 | 0.88 | 41.0 | 9.7 | 2.4 | ||||
2022Away | 3.29 | 1.24 | 27.1 | 9.5 | 4.0 | ||||
2021Home | 4.08 | 1.26 | 28.2 | 7.5 | 2.2 | ||||
2021Away | 9.58 | 1.94 | 20.2 | 7.8 | 4.4 | ||||
2020Home | 2.38 | 0.79 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 2.4 | ||||
2020Away | 8.44 | 1.50 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 5.1 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Rafael Montero compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
3.17K/9
9.6BB/9
3.0HR/9
0.4Fastball
96.3 mphERA
2.37WHIP
1.02BABIP
.269GB/FB
2.07Left On Base
72.9%Exit Velocity
81.2 mphBarrels/BBE
1.8%Spin Rate
2261 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
19.8%Swinging Strike
12.0%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2015
2014
Forearm soreness delayed Montero's debut until early August. He notched saves right away in his first two appearances and became a hot pickup in fantasy leagues. Montero earned saves in his first five outings and eight of his first 12, with last of those saves coming Sept. 12. Texas didn't afford another chance the final two weeks. Montero did not fare well in non-save situations, so his 2.13 ERA on Sept. 12 bloated to 4.08 by season's end. A former starter converted to relief following 2018 Tommy John surgery, Montero still deploys a four-pitch arsenal featuring a fastball and sinker in excess of 95 mph. He has closer stuff but hasn't shown durability since going under the knife -- he would have missed significant time last season if not for the shutdown. Montero looks like the Mariners' closer on paper after a December trade to Seattle, but the health risk renders him more of a CL2.
More Fantasy News

Works out of trouble to earn save
Montero picked up the save with a scoreless ninth inning against the Rays on Sunday. He allowed one hit and two walks while striking out one.
ANALYSIS
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Allows two runs in win
Montero (5-2) earned the win Saturday against the Orioles. He allowed two runs on two hits while striking out one over one inning.
ANALYSIS
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Picks up 13th save
Montero earned the save Thursday against Oakland, striking out two in a perfect ninth inning in a 5-2 victory.
ANALYSIS
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Picks up save Monday
Montero earned a save against the Rangers on Monday with a perfect inning that included one strikeout.
ANALYSIS
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Secures 11th save
Montero struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Friday's 4-2 win over the Angels.
ANALYSIS
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