Lazaro Montes Shines in MLB Debut With Mariners

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Lazaro Montes Shines in MLB Debut With Mariners

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Andrew Jamieson | Last updated Sep 2, 2026 10:46 AM ET

Lazaro Montes made his highly anticipated MLB debut for the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox. And it’s safe to say that he made a great first impression.

Serving as the designated hitter and batting seventh, the 21-year-old reached base safely in each of his first three plate appearances. Montes drew a walk in the second inning before recording his first career hit and RBI on a single in the third inning. However, those were not the only firsts for Seattle’s No. 5 and MLB Pipeline‘s No. 56 overall prospect.

Leading off the fifth inning, Montes belted a solo home run over the center field wall to extend the Mariners’ lead to 9-1. Montes finished 2-for-4 at the plate, popping out and striking out over his final two at-bats in Seattle’s 9-6 victory over the Red Sox.

Have a debut, Lazaro Montes!

After recording his first hit and RBI, he smacks his first MLB home run! pic.twitter.com/cG4dcKZHRl
— MLB (@MLB) September 2, 2026

Montes’ offensive prowess was a huge spark for a reeling Seattle offense, which scored just four runs in three games during its prior series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Montes’ first major league home run was just the latest display of power during a monster year at the plate.

He began 2026 with Double-A Arkansas and slashed .234/.369/.550 with 25 home runs and 66 RBI over 79 games. Montes earned a promotion to Triple-A Tacoma on July 7, where he just kept on mashing. Over 44 games there, he slashed .274/.369/.571 with 13 home runs and 30 RBI.

Montes’ 38 home runs rank second in all of the minors this season. Across 123 minor league games, he hit .249 with 96 RBI and a .927 OPS.

Lazaro Montes lasers a 3-run HR! 38th HR for Laz. pic.twitter.com/gAb5vRI9fb
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) August 30, 2026

That level of production is certainly a boost for the Mariners, who rank at the bottom in several major offensive categories this season. Seattle is tied for last in batting average (.228), last in runs scored (547), tied for 26th in on-base percentage (.309), 28th in slugging (.376), 29th in OPS (.685), and last in hits (1,049).

Those poor numbers have been a major catalyst behind the Mariners’ disappointing 65-74 record in 2026.

Entering Wednesday, Seattle sits five games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West and 5.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final American League Wild Card spot.

The Mariners have incredibly slim odds to make the postseason and very little margin for error down the stretch. If they want any chance at the postseason, Seattle will need Montes and the rest of its offense to keep stacking together great games like Tuesday. Every game matters.

The Mariners will look to win the series against the Red Sox on Wednesday at 4:10 p.m. ET before returning home to begin a seven-game homestand on Thursday.