Mason Montgomery Is Flashing Strikeout Stuff You Can't Ignore

Mason Montgomery is sitting at 1% rostered and just posted a 54.5% strikeout rate over his last seven days of work. That number demands your attention, even at 2.7 innings pitched. WaiverScout is classifying him as a Watch — and here's why the signal is worth tracking closely.

The Numbers Are Moving in the Right Direction

Let's walk through the rolling windows. Over the last 7 days, Montgomery posted a 0.00 ERA, a ludicrous 20 K/9, and a -0.23 FIP in 2.7 innings. Yes, negative FIP. That's not a typo — it's a reflection of pure swing-and-miss dominance with minimal damage allowed. Pull back to the 14-day window: ERA climbs to 5.4, but K/9 stays elite at 19.8 with a 2.5 FIP across 5 innings. The 30-day view — 5.62 ERA, 18 K/9, 2.98 FIP over 8 innings — shows a pitcher whose surface results have been messy but whose underlying skills have been screaming the entire time.

The trend is clear: the strikeout rate is rising (54.5% over 7 days vs. 40.0% over 30 days), the FIP is cratering, and the gap between ERA and FIP suggests ugly sequencing or bad luck — not bad pitching. A -0.23 FIP in any sample tells you the pitcher was nearly unhittable.

WaiverScout Flagged Him Before Anyone Cared

We first flagged Montgomery on April 3rd when he was rostered in just 0.2% of leagues. At that point, we classified him as a deprioritize — the stuff wasn't translating yet. Ownership has since climbed to 1% with a +0.8% change over the past week. The signal has strengthened considerably. What was noise two weeks ago is starting to look like a pattern.

Context: Under the Radar

Montgomery landed in Pittsburgh via a three-team trade involving the Rays and Astros, per FantasyPros. He's currently being deployed as an opener — CBS Sports reports he's slated to open Wednesday against the Nationals. Razzball has him ranked as the 110th relief pitcher, essentially an afterthought. Most of the industry isn't watching. That's your edge.

The opener role limits his innings ceiling right now, which is why this remains a Watch rather than an add. But the Pirates have reason to stretch him out if the performance continues, and that K rate in a short-relief or opener context is generating elite ratios when he avoids damage.

The Caveats

We're working with 8 total innings over 30 days. The confidence level is early signal — full stop. The recent game log also shows batting lines rather than pitching lines in our data, which underscores how limited the sample is. Early signs suggest Montgomery could be emerging as a high-strikeout weapon, but the workload needs to expand before this becomes an actionable add in standard leagues.

If you're comparing bullpen options, names like Seranthony Domínguez, Jakob Junis, and Griffin Jax occupy similar roster spots — but none of them are flashing a 54.5% strikeout rate over any recent window.

Verdict: Watch

Do not add Mason Montgomery yet in standard leagues. But put him on your watchlist immediately. The strikeout numbers are elite and trending upward. The FIP says the results are coming. If Pittsburgh expands his role — or if he strings together two more outings like his last week — he'll be a must-add, and you'll want to be first in line. WaiverScout is monitoring this signal closely. You should be too.