Mariners' Lazaro Montes continues to dazzle in MLB debut with first home run

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/montes-lazaro/nFJ7LuFm/"]Montes[/a]' first career shot came off [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/boston-red-sox/zaXTinF3/"]Boston Red[/a] Sox relief pitcher Christopher Olds in the top of the fifth inning to give the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/seattle-mariners/txYPhSac/"]Mariners[/a] a commanding 9-1 lead. [/p][embed guid="075cb403-a456-4a6c-991e-6fabba13ed96" url="https://x.com/MLB/status/2094943485841322217?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Earlier in the game, Montes collected his first MLB hit with an RBI single to right that put the Mariners up 7-1. [/p][p]Montes, 21, is Major League Baseball's No. 56 prospect and Seattle's No. 5. The six-foot-five power hitter has 38 home runs and 96 RBI with a .249/.369/.558 slash line in 129 games (44 in Triple-A, 79 in Double-A). [/p][embed guid="f0764aaa-1f10-410d-ac87-d37748873c73" url="https://x.com/MLB/status/2094931612739699128?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Seattle brought in Montes when they signed him as an international amateur free agent in 2022. Since then, the young Cuban star has been tearing it up at the plate at every level in their minor league system. [/p][p]Montes hit .284 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI through 56 games in the Fall Rookie League at just 17 years of age, rocking a 1.007 OPS. A year later, he made his way up to Single-A ball, finishing the year slashing .303/.440/.560 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI in 70 games. [/p][p]Then, in 2024 at age 19, Montes began to show what he could do. He finished 2025 in High-A ball with 21 homers and 105 RBI in 117 games before setting a then-career-high 32 home runs between High-A (67 games) and Double-A (64 games). [/p][p]Now, Montes' .556 slugging percentage is the best of his career since his first season in the minors, and with a career-best 38 home runs. [/p][p]Seattle are 64-74 as they sit in third place in the American League West division. They're both 5.5 games out of first place in the West and 5.5 games out of a Wild Card spot as the season is in its final stretch. [/p][infobox id="3e982646-21d3-4baf-ac34-10f731dff476" /]