115.9 mph HR moves MLB's No. 56 prospect into 2nd place on Minors leaderboard

Lazaro Montes has what many young hitters seek -- when he connects, the ball makes a different sound coming off his bat.

Such was the case for MLB’s No. 56 prospect Friday night when he whistled a 115.9 mph go-ahead two-run homer for Triple-A Tacoma in its eventual 6-5 win over Sacramento at Sutter Health Park. Montes' 36th roundtripper of the year marks his hardest-hit ball of 2026 and gives him sole possession of second place on the Minor League home run leaderboard.

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Equipped with a 65-grade power tool, Montes is among Minor League Baseball’s preeminent sluggers. There aren’t many hitters walking the planet capable of hitting the ball nearly 116 mph off the bat, after all. For context at the big league level, there have been just five home runs hit harder in 2026, with Montes’ latest tater tying Yordan Alvarez (May 8) and Nick Kurtz (April 24), both of whom rank in the 97th percentile or higher in average exit velocity.

The homers -- regardless of how hard they’ve come off the bat -- have come in bunches for Montes this month. With two separate three-game streaks already under his belt, he’s mashed eight roundtrippers for the Rainiers and posted a 1.087 OPS, on pace for his second-highest mark in a single month this year behind June (1.199).

Montes trails only Milwaukee’s No. 5 prospect Andrew Fischer (38) in the home run department across the Minors this year. Similarly to Fischer, the Mariners' No. 5 prospect often yields strikeouts as a tradeoff for his power; the 21-year-old is running a 30.6 percent K rate through play Friday, a mark that has risen since being promoted to the Minors’ highest level in early July.

Getting that number in check is especially important considering that Montes hammers the ball as hard as anyone at Triple-A. Entering the night, his 53.8 hard-hit rate was tied for third among all batters who had accrued at least 150 plate appearances at the level. That mark -- extrapolated out against big league pitching -- would rank him 12th in the Majors, just ahead of Alvarez, Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Elly De La Cruz.

But while the strikeouts have gone up, so has the slugging percentage. His .581 mark in 36 Triple-A contests is on pace to be the single-level best of his career and he’s achieved it by taking pitchers with big league experience deep -- of his 11 homers at the Minors’ highest level, seven have come off hurlers who spent time in the Majors.

It’s a banner weekend in Seattle as 2025 first-round pick Kade Anderson, baseball’s top-ranked pitching prospect and one of the most-hyped collegiate hurlers of the past two decades, makes his Major League debut Saturday night against the Cubs. Firmly entrenched in a battle for a playoff spot, the club couldn’t wait any longer to bring aboard one of the Minors’ top hurlers; as their offense sits tied for last in the Majors in OPS (.684) through play Friday, it’s fair to wonder if one of the Minors’ top sluggers could soon provide a jolt.