Yankees: Can Jordan Montgomery take the next step in 2018?

In 2017 Yankees left-hander Jordan Montgomery burst onto the scene with a terrific rookie season I don’t think anybody in the organization saw coming. What does the young southpaw have in store for this season?

Montgomery was one of the biggest stories in camp last year after he came out of nowhere to win the fifth starter’s job in the Yankees rotation. Entering spring training his name was barely mentioned as a possibility, but he was so impressive that he left them with no choice but to give him the job.

Once the season rolled around Montgomery showed the Yankees that they made the right decision after he posted one of the best rookie seasons by a starting pitcher in recent team history. He made 29 starts going 9-7 with an impressive 3.88 ERA and 144 strikeouts. He finished sixth in the voting for AL Rookie of the Year and helped himself cement a spot in this year’s rotation.

Coming into 2018 Montgomery will fill the same fifth starter’s spot in the rotation and will make his season debut on April 2nd in the Yankees home opener. While fellow youngster Luis Severino and the rest of the rotation will earn most of the attention this season Montgomery will still have a very important role to play if this team wants to reach their sky-high expectations.

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This year’s rotation has a couple of guys with injury worries attached to their names, but there’s no reason to believe Montgomery is one of them. By all accounts, he has the work ethic and certainly has the build of a pitcher who should be able to make it through the grind of a full season.

In the event of an injury, the Yankees have some question marks when it comes to starting pitching depth. That’s why it will be crucial for Montgomery to take the next step in his development and not regress.

When you watch Montgomery pitch he’s certainly not somebody who’s going to overpower hitters. Location is obviously key, but what makes him so effective is the way he mixes all of his pitches with his over the top release. His curveball was his best pitch a season ago, but earlier this spring Montgomery said his changeup has always been his go-to pitch, per Dan Martin of the New York Post:

"“If I hadn’t had my curveball and been able to throw it for strikes and expand [the zone] with it, who knows what would have happened,” Montgomery said. “It’s kind of good knowing I got through it without my best pitch, my changeup.”"

Montgomery said that he essentially got through his rookie season with only two pitches. That’s crazy to think about when you consider how strong of a season he had. If Mongomery can rediscover what he calls his best pitch you would figure even bigger things are ahead of him in his sophomore season.

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Montgomery may not have the kind of upside of a Severino or some of the other top young starters in the game, but he’s a pitcher who has the ability to really make an impact and surprise some people in 2018. You can expect him to be a staple in this Yankee rotation for years to come.