Could Joseph Montalvo Be the Tigers’ Next Hidden Pitching Gem in 2026?
When Detroit swung a trade sending lefty Andrew Chafin to Texas at the 2024 deadline, nobody was holding their breath for a blockbuster. Sure, they snagged sidearmer Chase Lee—but it was righty Joseph Montalvo who quietly stole the spotlight as the deal’s centerpiece, albeit modestly. Sadly, that promise was quickly overshadowed by injury woes that turned 2025 into a season lost for the Tigers’ prize pitching prospect.
Montalvo’s journey began far from the spotlight—drafted in the 20th round in 2021 out of Central Pointe Christian Academy in Florida, after relocating from Puerto Rico to chase his dream. Opting out of college ball for a minimal bonus, he was all-in on fast-tracking his professional career. At the time of the trade, he was sidelined by a torn ligament in his foot—a setback that may have helped Detroit pry him loose from Texas for a brief, but solid bullpen piece. Before that injury, he dazzled at High-A as a fly-ball specialist, piling up quick outs and missing bats at an impressive clip—striking out nearly 30 percent of hitters he faced.
But baseball’s a cruel game. When Montalvo moved up to Double-A in 2025, the hoped-for evolution in his stuff didn’t materialize. His performances were inconsistent, and his strikeout rate took a nosedive—a familiar hurdle for young pitchers adapting to tougher competition. Just as things seemed to click late spring, an arm injury in early June abruptly ended his year. No major surgery was announced, leaving his recovery—and 2026 outlook—in a murky fog. Social media glimpses showed a hefty arm brace months later, hinting at the seriousness beneath the surface.
Standing tall at 6’2” and 185 pounds, Montalvo has the frame to add velocity—and scouts loved his ability to command three distinct pitches. Yet, until he boosts his raw stuff, the path to the upper minors remains steep. His low three-quarters delivery, pitchability, and smarts on the mound—mixing angles, changing speeds, keeping hitters off balance—show plenty of polish. But without overpowering heat, each mistake hurts, often leaving him vulnerable to the long ball.
So here’s the quandary: can he harness that feel, stay healthy, and inject more life into his arsenal? That’s the million-dollar question as he gears up for the upcoming season. If he finds traction at Double-A this spring, a climb back up the prospect ladder could be swift and sweet.
When the Detroit Tigers traded left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin to the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline in 2024, it was never likely to be an impactful deal. The Tigers got sidearmer Chase Lee in the deal, but it was the second piece, right-handed starter Joseph Montalvo, who was expected to be the modest centerpiece. Unfortunately, another injury plagued season for a Tigers pitcher made 2025 a lost season for him.
The Rangers drafted the Puerto Rican product back in 2021 out of Central Pointe Christian Academy in Kissimee, Florida. Montalvo had moved to Florida for high school with the ambition to pitch, and he was willing to take the minimum bonus to forego college and start a pro career as a 20th round pick.
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At the time of the trade, Montalvo was injured with a torn ligament in his foot, which may have helped the Tigers pry him away from the Rangers for a two months of a solid reliever. Prior to that injury, Montalvo was on a great run in his first look at the High-A level. A distinct fly ball pitcher, he was racking up tons of quick outs in the air and striking out 29.9 percent of hitters faced. His stuff wasn’t overpowering, but he was mature in his ability to vary his approach and spot his fastball and slider.
Unfortunately the hoped for bump in his stuff didn’t come to frution as Montalvo moved up to the Double-A level in 2025. His reesults were really mixed from one start to another and his strikeout rate plunged. That isn’t too unusual as a young pitcher adapts to the upper levels, but he didn’t show much improvement over his 2024 work early on. Finally in late May and early June, Montalvo seemed to be settling in, but after ripping off several good starts in a row he suffered an unspecified arm injury in early June that ended his season.
About the only thing we can say is that it didn’t appear to bea major surgery involved as the Tigers often announce those, but don’t provide any details about injuries otherwise. However, Montalvo did post one picture on social media showing a full arm brace on his extended right arm in September, three months after the initial injury. So we can at least assume it was a significant injury. This makes it difficult to project him in 2026. Is he going to start the season on time? We’ll assume so since it apparently wasn’t a UCL surgery, but his status remains a little bit up in the air.
Montalvo has the size at 6’2” 185 pounds to develop more velocity, and his flexibility and athleticism say that may come with a little more time, but the injury short-circuited progress in that regard last year. One of his key selling points when the Tigers traded for him was his ability to command three pitches, but he still needed a bump in terms of his stuff to carry him into the upper levels of the farm system as a legitimate starting pitching prospect.
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Montalvo’s athleticism helped him command everything despite a lot of subtle variants in his approach. He gets down the mound pretty well and smoothly works into a low three-quarters release that seems to throw hitters off a bit. He also has pretty good feel for varying his angles and shapes to suit the hitter. He would jam left-handers with more of a true riding fourseamer to his gloveside, and then shift to get a better angle to his armside and throw the same fourseamer with more run. In short, he has quite a bit of what scouts will sum up as pitchability.
Montalvo is often able to get a lot of weak fly balls, pop-ups, and some whiffs just by never letting a hitter see anything quite the same way twice. On the other hand, without overpowering stuff, his mistakes get hit over the fences a fair amount and he’s had some bouts of giving up homers in bunches. So instead of hoping a harder throwing pitcher develops some command, the upside with Montalvo is that a little boost in stuff will take advantage of his pitching ability and get him to the majors in relatively short order.
Here’s a look from after the trade in 2024.
He backs the fourseamer with an above average sweeping slider at 83 mph and a decent circle change that is still a little firm but does run a good amount. At his best with the Rangers, his ability to spot both of those pitches consistently helped them play up and made him a pretty decent starting pitching prospect. The hope was that he’d add a little more strength to his lanky frame and get to sitting more consistently in the mid-90’s. As things stand he’s usually around 93 mph, and with the Tigers he’s had some off days where the velo is down a little bit. Steadier mid-90’s velocity anda minor breakthrough with his changeup are the keys for him going forward.
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The lack of progress since he was acquired, combined with the recent injury history, have the risk meter pretty high on Montalvo now. At his best he shows a lot of nice feel for pitching and can move his stuff around the zone, set hitters up, and get them off balance. He needs to stay healthy and develop a little boost in the stuff department. Hopefully he’s able to take advantage of the rehabilitation process and the offseason to get stronger. If he’s able to start getting traction in Double-A this spring he’ll move right back up the rankings by midseason.
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