Montero and Valencia help Tigers win series against Cleveland
Eight years ago, Keider Montero and Eduardo Valencia were teammates in the Dominican Summer League, two Venezuelan teenagers trying to work their way through a Detroit Tigers organization that had invested very little money in either player.
Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park, they were two of the biggest reasons the Tigers moved back into an American League wild-card position.
Montero delivered 6 1/3 scoreless innings, Valencia homered and Spencer Torkelson added another important insurance run as Detroit shut out the Cleveland Guardians, 3-0, to improve to 60-61. The Tigers have won seven of their last 10 and, following Thursday's victory, were tied with Texas at .496 for the final AL wild-card position.
For a team that suddenly has to navigate the loss of Riley Greene to the injured list and continues to play meaningful baseball deep into August, the Tigers are finding contributions from different places.
On Thursday, two of those places happened to trace back to Venezuela.
There was nothing overpowering about Montero's outing in the traditional sense.
He did not record a strikeout.
It didn't matter.
Montero allowed just three hits and one walk while working into the seventh inning, getting Cleveland to repeatedly put the ball on the ground or into Detroit's defense. He needed 88 pitches to record 19 outs before Tyler Holton took over with one out in the seventh.
It was a strong response after Montero allowed five runs over six innings against San Francisco in his previous start.
More importantly, it was another example of how valuable Montero has become to this rotation.
Detroit signed him as an international free agent out of Venezuela on Aug. 25, 2016. His bonus was just $40,000. He debuted in the Dominican Summer League in 2017 and spent years slowly climbing through the organization before eventually reaching Detroit in 2024.
There was no fast track here.
And that makes Thursday's connection to Valencia even more interesting.
Valencia signed for even less. Detroit signed him out of Venezuela for $10,000 in 2018. He spent seven years in the system before his breakout 2025 season, when he hit .311 with 24 home runs and 95 RBIs between Erie and Toledo and forced his way onto the 40-man roster.
And yes, Montero and Valencia really do go back that far.
Both appeared for DSL Tigers 1 in 2018. In a July 27 game that season, Montero threw three scoreless innings while Valencia went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. They haven't spent every season or every level together since, but their shared organizational history stretches back eight years.
Now they are helping Detroit in a playoff race.
With two outs in the sixth Thursday, Valencia got Parker Messick for a solo home run to left field, extending Detroit's lead to 2-0.
It was already Valencia's fifth major-league homer. Through his first 44 at-bats, he is hitting .386 with five home runs, 14 RBIs and a 1.254 OPS. Even acknowledging the small sample, Valencia has done considerably more than simply hold his own since arriving in Detroit.
The timing couldn't be much better.
The Tigers have spent years trying to rebuild their international pipeline, particularly in Venezuela. Montero and Valencia are products of an older group of international signings, but their success provides an example of why that area of player development matters.
Neither was a seven-figure signing. Neither was immediately considered one of the organization's future stars. They developed.
And now, with Detroit trying to play its way into October, both are contributing and as of right now in the standings, have the Tigers tied for a wild card spot.
Then there is Spencer Torkelson.
Detroit already had the lead, but in a playoff race, a two-run advantage is hardly comfortable.
Kevin McGonigle led off the eighth with a single, stole second and Colt Keith walked. Torkelson followed with a ground-ball single through the left side to score McGonigle and make it 3-0.
It was another run-producing swing from Torkelson after he drove in two with a double Wednesday against Cleveland.
That is the version of Torkelson Detroit needs right now.
Not necessarily the player trying to hit a three-run homer every time he steps into the box, but the hitter who can shorten up, use the middle of the field and bring home an important run.
Thursday's single gave the bullpen breathing room, and Kenley Jansen took advantage by retiring José Ramírez, Nathaniel Lowe and Jo Adell in order in the ninth, a much easier night then on Tuesday.
The Tigers' path back into contention has been built through a combination of first-round draft picks, later-round finds, trades, waiver claims and international scouting. Thursday showed why that final category shouldn't get overlooked.
Montero was a $40,000 signing. Valencia was a $10,000 signing.
They were together in the Dominican Summer League in 2018 and teammates again in on the 2019 GCL Tigers West Squad. The development and growth from these two over the last two seasons has been fun to watch.
Eight years later, one took the ball at Comerica Park and threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings. The other supplied a home run in a game Detroit desperately needed.
It is a long way from the DSL to a major-league playoff race.
For Montero and Valencia, Thursday afternoon connected both ends of that journey. With the win, Montero is now tied for the most wins by a homegrown Tigers international signee, with fellow Venezuelan, Felipe Lira.
Follow me on "X" @therogcast
