Bryce
Montes de Oca

2013 Fall Kansas City Royals Scout Team

4/15/14 - Once again a large contingent of MLB scouts lined up behind home plate, radar guns and camcorders in hand, to watch Lawrence HS senior right-hander Bryce Montes de Oca on Thursday. Montes de Oca is a massive 6-foot-8, 265-pounder—his teammates call him “Grande” and parents in the stands cheer for “Big Bryce” and Montes de Oca stands for “Mountain of Geese” in Spanish—all very appropriate. In his second start since coming off Tommy John surgery against one of the top teams in the state, Olathe South HS, Montes de Oca pitched three innings, giving up no hits, no runs and two walks while striking out five. He threw 29 strikes in 45 pitches, an upgrade from his first outing when he dialed in 16 of 31 strikes. He throws with a methodical delivery and excellent body control using a high three-quarter slot, getting out in front with minimal effort. His fastball was clocked in the 92-96 mph range, which contributed to Olathe South chasing some pitches out of the zone but he also squared up the catcher for called strikes a good number of times as well. Scouts that saw him in his first start said he looked much sharper this time around. He also showed a 77 mph slurve in the game, a pitch he also threw in his pregame bullpen and in between innings. Considering he’s still progressing in his return to 100 percent, ripping through this pitch likely won’t happen for a few more weeks. He also threw an 87 mph changeup in the game as well as his warm-ups. It has sinking action and likely will develop into a show pitch versus left-handed hitters. Video of Montes de Oca is available in his profile.