| Coco Montes | |
| Team: | Yomiuri Giants |
| Number: | 39 |
| Position: | Second baseman |
| Birth Date: | 7 October 1996 |
| Birth Place: | Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | June 11 |
| Debutyear: | 2023 |
| Debutteam: | Colorado Rockies |
| Debut2league: | NPB |
| Debut2date: | July 26 |
| Debut2year: | 2024 |
| Debut2team: | Yomiuri Giants |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | 2023 season |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .184 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 1 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 3 |
| Stat2league: | NPB |
| Stat2year: | August 20, 2024 |
| Stat21label: | Batting average |
| Stat21value: | .315 |
| Stat22label: | Home runs |
| Stat22value: | 0 |
| Stat23label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat23value: | 7 |
| Teams: |
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Robert Patrick "Coco" Montes (born October 7, 1996) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies.
Montes was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 35th round, with the 1,064th overall selection, of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft out of Coral Gables High School.[1] He did not sign, and attended the University of South Florida.[2] [3]
Montes was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 15th round, with the 456th overall selection, of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft and signed.[4] [5]
Montes made his professional debut in 2018 with the rookie–level Grand Junction Rockies.[6] He was named the Pioneer League MVP after hitting .333/.413/.513 with 8 home runs and 42 RBI in 69 contests.[7] Montes spent 2019 with the Single–A Asheville Tourists, playing in 132 games and hitting .258/.305/.406 while setting career–highs in home runs (13) and RBI (89).[8] Montes did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
In 2021, Montes spent the season with the Double–A Hartford Yard Goats, playing in 116 games and slashing .258/.317/.448 with 13 home runs and 60 RBI.[10] [11] He was assigned to Double–A Hartford to begin the 2022 season, and was quickly promoted to the Triple–A Albuquerque Isotopes. In 111 games for Albuquerque, he batted .274/.359/.500 with 20 home runs, 77 RBI, and 13 stolen bases.[12] Montes began the 2023 season with Triple–A Albuquerque, where he played in 59 games and hit .321/.401/.560 with 12 home runs, 47 RBI, and 4 stolen bases.[13]
On June 11, 2023, the Rockies selected Montes to the 40-man roster and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time.[14] He made his debut that day as the starting second baseman against the San Diego Padres, going 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.[15] The two-run home run came off of Blake Snell in the eighth inning to tie the game, and led to an eventual 5–4 victory.[16] In 18 games for Colorado, he hit .184/.244/.316 with 1 home run and 3 RBI. On September 5, Montes was designated for assignment following the promotion of Cole Tucker.[17] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Albuquerque on September 7.[18]
Montes played in 64 games for Triple–A Albuquerque in 2024, hitting .335/.414/.551 with nine home runs, 47 RBI, and five stolen bases. He was released by the Rockies organization on June 25, 2024.[19]
On June 27, 2024, Montes signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball.[20] [21]
Montes garnered the nickname 'Coco' after he was born with a full head of hair that his mother shaved off. His grandfather then called him Spanish; Castilian: cocoliso, which loosely translates to coconut, and is slang for a bald person.[22] In Cuba, Montes's great-grandfather, Manuel Ramírez, had been a lawyer representing American businesses. By August 1960, Ramírez arrived in Miami, Florida. He subsequently moved to Michigan, then settled in Hartford, Connecticut, and taught Spanish at Avon Old Farms. The family resettled in Miami in the 1970s.[11]
Montes grew up idolizing Nomar Garciaparra of the Boston Red Sox.[23]