Fox Chapel grad Patrick Monteverde picked for MLB All-Star Futures Game
Patrick Monteverde once said he wasn’t too proud to ask for pitching advice.
It was not beneath him to seek knowledge from veteran arms on how to accelerate his professional baseball career.
Monteverde looks to be more the teacher than the student these days. His invitation to All-Star Saturday is a good indication.
The former Fox Chapel ace was selected to play in the Major League Baseball All-Star Futures Game set for 7 p.m. July 8 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
Monteverde, a 6-foot-2 left-hander who spent time with three college programs, including Seton Hill for two years, is rostered with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.
He is among the top starters in the Southern League with a 7-1 record in 12 starts, a 2.13 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 672⁄3 innings.
Monteverde, 25, who began his college career at Virginia Wesleyan after limited suitors recruited him out of high school, injured his arm three starts into the season in 2019 at Seton Hill and needed Tommy John surgery.
While his career was stunted and he was unable to give his all to the Division II powerhouse Griffins at the start, he returned in the spring of 2020. But the covid pandemic shut down the season, and he rerouted his career again.
He went on to Division I Texas Tech, where he struck out 101 in 861⁄3 innings and was selected in the eighth round of the MLB Draft.
Now, he is making inroads to the majors, and a spotlight will be on him next weekend.
The seven-inning Futures Game, which uses a National League vs. American League format, will air on Peacock and SiriusXM.
There are 14 former first-round picks in the game.
Around the minors
• Latrobe product Zach Kokoska is leading the Spokane Indians in several offensive categories.
The outfielder-turned-first baseman is hitting .323 with 16 doubles, 14 home runs, 44 RBIs, 41 runs and 14 stolen bases in 56 games with the Colorado Rockies’ High-Class A team.
The third-year pro known as “Koko” has 28 homers and 91 RBIs in 168 games.
He made a slight swing change, but, when it did not produce results, he went back his natural swing and he is back in a groove.
• Meanwhile, in Triple-A, long-bombing JJ Matijevic is putting fans in seats and selling bobbleheads of his likeness with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
The 75th pick in the 2017 draft, the Norwin alum is hoping for another call-up with the Houston Astros.
He bounced between Sugar Land and Houston last year, eventually joining the Astros’ taxi squad and earning a World Series ring.
This season, the first baseman and outfielder is slashing .271/.338/.471 with eight homers and 48 RBIs in 62 games.
He appeared in 32 games last year with the Astros and went 14 for 67 (.209) with two homers and five RBIs. His first MLB hit was a homer.
• And don’t forget about Jared Kollar, a free-agent signee of the San Diego Padres in August 2022.
Another Latrobe grad who won WPIAL and PIAA Class 5A championships with Kokoska, Kollar is pitching for the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League.
The Missions are the Double-A club of the Padres. He was promoted Tuesday from the Fort Wayne TinCaps in High-A. Kollar is 5-0 with a 1.67 ERA in seven starts. He has 35 strikeouts and six walks in 372⁄3 innings and one save.
Kollar pitched at Seton Hill for four years before a grad season at Rutgers in 2022.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
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