Mariners pitcher Mike Montgomery trying to recapture that winning feeling

(TNS) — In the competition for the fifth spot in the starting rotation, Mike Montgomery is the forgotten candidate, overshadowed by frontrunners and projected favorites like left-hander James Paxton and right-hander Nathan Karns.

Montgomery may be overlooked, but he hasn’t forgotten the positives in his first season at the big league level. And it’s those early successes that are driving him forward in a race that he isn’t expected to win.

“One of my goals is just to be one of the better left-handed starters in the league,” he said. “Obviously it’s a goal that takes a lot of work and not all of it is in my control, but that’s kind of how I feel. I feel like I have the stuff, it’s just about going out there and proving it.”

A former first-round pick of the Royals in the 2008 draft, talent has never been a question with Montgomery. It’s harnessing it and finding consistency.

In the depth chart of Mariners’ starting pitchers, Montgomery is probably a solid No. 7, just behind Paxton and Karns. He would be an excellent arm to have waiting at Class AAA Tacoma and likely to pitch in the big leagues this season. But there is a rub to that plan: Montgomery is out of minor league options.

So if he doesn’t make the opening day 25-man roster, he must designated for assignment, which would open him up to waiver claims. And a 26-year-old lefty with experience and some success at the Major League level isn’t clearing waivers.

“Not a chance,” said a member of the Mariners’ front office.

The Mariners could convert him into a bullpen role to keep him in the organization. It’s what Tampa was doing with him before the trade.

“I’ve done it a few times,” he said. “I definitely feel like it’s possible. But I also feel like I’m a starter, for sure.”

It’s a similar situation to last spring for the Mariners with right-hander Erasmo Ramirez last spring and how they acquired Montgomery. Knowing Ramirez was out of options but didn’t fit on their opening day roster, the Mariners sent him to Tampa Bay in exchange for Montgomery in a trade the day before the season began.

Now Montgomery is in that situation. And he knows the Mariners will try to trade him somewhere to get something in return instead of losing him for nothing on a waiver claim.

“I’m aware of it,” he said. “But at the same time I’m not really thinking about it too much because I’ve just been trying to get in shape and get ready for the season. I know in this game, being traded twice already, anything can happen.”

The anything-can-happen story line seemed to sum up Montgomery’s magical midseason start to his MLB career.

With Hisashi Iwakuma and James Paxton on the disabled list, Montgomery was recalled from Class AAA Tacoma, where he had posted a 4-3 record with a 4.14 ERA in 11 starts.

In his big league debut at Safeco Field against the New York Yankees, Montgomery worked six innings, giving up one run on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. It was the beginning of a stellar seven-start run that featured back-to-back shutouts against his old team, the Royals, and the San Diego Padres, which was a one-hitter. He was the first rookie pitcher to throw back-to-back shutouts since Cleveland’s Jeremy Sowers in 2006. And just the 12th rookie to do so since 1980.

During that seven-game span, Montgomery was 4-2 with a 1.62 ERA. In 51 innings, he struck out 31 batters and walked 13.

The success faded in July and fell apart in August. In his final nine starts, Montgomery went 0-4 with an 8.33 ERA. In 40 innings pitched, he struck out 33 but walked 24.

He’s had an entire offseason to ponder what went wrong.

“I think more than anything, I was just trying to be somebody I wasn’t,” he said. “I changed what I was having success with early on, changed the type of pitches I was throwing in certain counts and that affected my confidence a little.”

Like many pitchers in his situation, teams also figured out Montgomery thanks to advanced scouting and seeing him twice. And he didn’t adjust to their adjustments.

It’s easy to remember the end of the season failure, but Montgomery won’t forget the early success. It’s what drives him.

“I still go back and reflect on the good and bad,” he said. “But that confidence from that good stretch is there.”