Through the years, the Tampa Bay Rays have done an excellent job at drafting and developing pitchers. Just to name a few, David Price, James Shields, Alex Cobb, Matt Moore, Jake McGee, Wade Davis, Blake Snell and now AL Cy Young frontrunner Shane McClanahan are all guys that were drafted and found success in Tampa Bay.

The Rays may have found their next great hurler; and it's not who you think it is.

Taken in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, 22-year-old Mason Montgomery already finds himself in Double-A with the Montgomery Biscuits.

Arsenal

Nothing in his arsenal will blow you away, as his fastball only sits between 92-94 mph; but Montgomery is finding ways to make batters whiff at a ridiculous rate. In fact, his 41.8% K rate led all of High-A ball before his recent promotion to AA.

Aside from his mind-blowing strikeout numbers, here are how his other stats rack up thus far in 2022 (A+):

16 starts

1.81 ERA

2.68 FIP

1.09 WHIP

.194 OPP AVG

0.78 HR/9

These impressive numbers top to bottom begs the question: With nothing special in his arsenal, how is Montgomery seeing so much success?

Recent yet immediate Success

There are several answers to that question; one of which is his delivery. The southpaw does an exceptional job at hiding the baseball until the very last second, which can make his standard 93 mph fastball appear a few ticks faster due to the hitter not being able to see the ball until further into Montgomery's windup.

Montgomery also features a changeup that sits in the mid-80s, keeping hitters from both sides of the plate at a constant guessing game when facing him.

Montgomery's arsenal features a slider as well, but it struggles with command at times so the left-hander tends to shy away from it.

The fastball

Because Montgomery's fastball is so lethal, the 22-year-old does not hold back from using it, as he throws the heater more than 70% of the time. As he climbs his way up the minor leagues, you do wonder if he will continue to have his way with hitters in AA and eventually AAA like he did in High-A.

Another question many scouts have brought up regarding Montgomery's future with the Rays is whether he will be converted into a relief pitcher, as today's starting pitchers tend to have more than two effective pitches in their arsenal.

MLB Comparisons

If the Rays do decide to convert Montgomery into a reliever, fans wouldn't have to look far to find his MLB comparison, as Colin Poche relies on his fastball very heavily despite it sitting at only 94 mph.

As stated previously, Montgomery's success in High-A recently earned him a promotion to AA, where he will likely spend the rest of 2022. If Montgomery is able to sustain his success for the rest of the year, he will become a household name for all Rays fans in 2023, which is when he could find himself as a midseason call-up if all goes well for the deceptive southpaw.