PITTSBURGH -- Mason Montgomery remembers being in Colorado when pitching coach Billy Murphy came to him with an idea. The left-hander already had a nasty arsenal involving a 100 mph four-seamer, a slider, a curveball and a changeup.
But Murphy felt a two-seam fastball could make him even more dangerous.
“Mentally, I feel good about throwing it,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery has evolved into one of the Pirates' best relief weapons, posting a 37.1 strikeout percentage and a .198 BAA. After his trade from Tampa Bay in December, Montgomery has been utilized as a Swiss Army knife, opening games at times while also taking on some of Pittsburgh’s highest-leverage situations.
Montgomery’s archetype as a left-handed flamethrower is rare in the sport, only comparable to the best of the best and future Hall of Famers.
“It's a lefty throwing 101. When you scout, you can't find comps, maybe other than [Red Sox closer] Aroldis Chapman, when you're trying to watch at-bats,” catcher Henry Davis said.
Montgomery was already posting a strong season, but he has taken it to the next level after adding the two-seamer. He sees the benefit in having another pitch to throw for strikes, especially one that can ride up and away from right-handed batters.
Murphy said it’s common to teach pitchers new weapons in-season, but it can be hard to adjust to trusting the new pitch during a game. With Montgomery, the evolution took only two days.
“When you have someone who throws that hard, the big goal is to get in the strike zone,” Murphy said. “We thought that the pitch would just be something that he could throw naturally, and that's exactly what it has done. I think it's just freed him up.”
While topping out at 101.6 mph as recently as Aug. 3, Montgomery hasn’t always shown this velocity. The hardest he remembers throwing outside of a game is 96 mph, and he didn’t hit 100 mph until 2024.
At Texas Tech, Montgomery had arm strength but couldn’t use it effectively. Former Red Raiders pitching coach Ray Hayward said Montgomery was forced to pitch at 90-92 mph to stay in the strike zone. Montgomery was taken by the Rays in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and he played with now-teammate Brandon Lowe at Triple-A Durham in 2024, when Lowe was on a rehab assignment.
Lowe remembers Montgomery starting and topping out at 94 mph. A few weeks later, when Lowe was back with the Major League club and Montgomery earned the callup, Lowe saw the pitcher throwing 100 mph out of the bullpen.
Montgomery, Lowe and Jake Mangum were sent in a three-team deal from Tampa Bay to Pittsburgh, with the swap looking like more of a steal for the Pirates as time goes on. Developing through the Rays' pitching factory helped Montgomery improve his game. He didn’t change much mechanically but added a gyro slider and focused on throwing on the edges and starting ahead.
“[The Rays] definitely know what they're doing,” Montgomery said. “For me, they just made it really simple. They simplified it for me. It's like, 'get ahead and then expand. Nothing crazy. Throw everything you have. Throw it with conviction.'”
Montgomery’s rise didn’t begin with the Tampa Bay organization. He was the No. 2-ranked left-handed pitcher in Texas for the 2018 Draft class, and after Hayward saw him as a prep player, he was shocked to see Montgomery selected in the 39th round of the Draft and show up on campus.
“I went, 'What's he doing here?’” Hayward joked. “As a scout, I scouted for a long time, and I thought, man, he's really gotten better. With the arm action and the speed and all that stuff. Delivery, being left-handed, I felt somebody messed up, pro-wise.”
Montgomery switched between starting and relief in college, utilizing a cut fastball and straight slider while still developing a changeup. Fast-forward to his time with the Pirates, and Montgomery is seeing increased usage in high-leverage situations. His calm demeanor certainly helps.
Lowe often jokes with Montgomery that there’s virtually no emotion involved in his outings. Pirates manager Don Kelly believes that Montgomery's “even-keel” style makes him more adaptable. For Murphy, it makes Montgomery an outlier.
“Most people cannot slow the game down in the big moments to get saves and to get big strikeouts, and he can,” Murphy said. “That's what makes him special. That's what the big pitchers in the game do. I grew up watching [Hall of Fame pitcher] Mariano Rivera. He had the stuff, but he also was never rattled on the mound. That's special from a reliever perspective.”