ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Move over Max Scherzer, there’s a new kid in town!

Jul 4, 2015, 4:40 PM | Updated: 4:41 pm

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LISTEN: Move over Scherzer, there's a new kid in town!

Max Scherzer is the unquestionable frontrunner for the NL Cy Young, and while he’s been the most dominant pitcher over the course of the season, there’s a rookie in the AL West whose back-to-back shutouts are shooting up him the fantasy ranks into the same territory as the Nationals ace right-hander.

Tucked into the northwest corner of our fine country we find budding ace Mike Montgomery, once a top-flight prospect in the Royals system, now mowing down batters for the Seattle Mariners. The Royals moved him to Tampa Bay in the trade that sent Wil Myers there as well before the Rays flipped him to the M’s this past off-season for the very inconsistent and erratic Erasmo Ramirez. This trade has worked well for both teams, but it took the Mariners a few extra weeks to truly reap the benefits.

Montgomery began his season at Triple-A Tacoma where he pitched 53 innings, struck out 47 and compiled a 3.74 ERA, not terrible but not great either. The knock on him was always his confidence, he had the stuff but he wasn’t completely ready mentally. The Mariners saw his potential in their trade for him and called him up to debut against the New York Yankees on June 2. He would receive a no-decision for his six innings of one-run ball and would get a tough-luck loss in start number two at home against the Rays after surrendering two runs in seven innings.

Start number three would earn him his first win — another six-inning, one-run outing — with the stretch of three quality starts being enough for me to add him to my fantasy team. His next start would be his worst so far (through July 4) but it wasn’t that bad, 7.1 innings and four earned runs, his only non-quality start on the year.

Then came the magnificence.

In his fifth major league start, Montgomery dominated the team that drafted him and sent him away, the Kansas City Royals, pitching a complete game shutout while striking out 10 batters and allowing nary a walk. Seven days later, it was another feat of strength, as he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Padres in San Diego while striking out seven and walking four. He would finish the game earning his second-straight complete game shutout, the first rookie to accomplish such a masterful sequence since Jeremy Sowers of the Cleveland Indians in 2008, and the fourth Mariner rookie to pitch two shutouts over the course of a season.

He’ll get his shot at a third in a row in Oakland on Sunday, July 5, but no matter what happens there, Montgomery should be added to your fantasy roster as soon as you’re finished reading this sentence. At the time this was published, he was 45 percent owned in all fantasy leagues, but is climbing quickly!

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Move over Max Scherzer, there’s a new kid in town!