There’s no denying that since his latest call-up, Rafael Montero has been a much better pitcher.  Even if Mets fans have long come to distrust Montero, it’s hard to argue with the results.  Since July 18th, Montero has made 12 starts and one relief appearance.  Over that stretch, he’s 4-5 with a 4.68 ERA, 1.589 WHIP, and an 8.4 K/9.  Mixed in there, Montero has had some brilliant starts including an 8.1 inning three hit shut out against the Reds.

This is a far cry from the Montero who entered the season with a 1-5 record, 5.15 ERA, and a 1.636 WHIP.  Things were actually worse than that in his earlier call-ups this season.  Prior to July 18th, Montero was 1-5 with a 5.77 ERA and a 1.897 WHIP. The main culprit for all of these struggles was the walks.  Until his most recent call-up, he was walking 5.4 batters per nine.  According to Fangraphs, that’s a significant step past “Awful.”

Now, Montero has been much better because he has been attacking batters and the strike zone.  That’s why he is getting better results and has begun to change everyone’s impression of him.  However, he is still walking too many batters.   Through the aforementioned 13 appearances, Montero is walking 4.7 batters per nine.

Again, according to Fangraphs, this is still a step past awful.

Overall, this is the danger with judging pitchers on the sole basis of them improving.  Montero has gone from being a pitcher once demoted to Double-A to a pitcher who has had some successful starts at the Major League level.  For the first time, we have seen some glimpses of the pitcher the Mets have held onto for so long.  Still, we are not seeing a complete and finished product that can be consistently relied upon throughout the course of a season.

In the end, Montero is improved, and there are hopes he could actually be a contributor.  How he contributes becomes dicey.

He’s out of options meaning he cannot be stashed away in the minors as an emergency starter.  With him walking as many batters as he does, you can’t rely upon him as a reliever to preserve a lead.  That really leaves two options for the Mets with Montero: 1) move on from him and run the risk of him figuring it out elsewhere; or 2) make him a long reliever.

The long reliever role is one the Mets have been sorely lacking for the last two seasons.  It has led to the decimation of the bullpen time and again.  With the Mets having stayed with Montero this long, you might as well give him the chance as he’s finally earned it.