If you are of the belief that the Colorado Rockies have no impactful prospects and/or that they got absolutely nothing of real value out of the Nolan Arenado trade, you might be shocked to learn about Elehuris Montero.

An interesting counterexample to both notions, like all minor leaguers Montero is 100 percent potential and we won’t know anything from an MLB perspective for sure until he makes his debut.

What we do know, however, is more than intriguing.

The now 23-year-old right-handed slugger was considered quite the prospect when he suited up for a more-respected organization. After his remarkable 2018 campaign at the A-level saw him produce an offensive line worthy of a 157 wRC+ (57 percent better than league average) he was named the Midwest League MVP and postseason All-Star.

MLB.com thereafter named him the St. Louis Cardinals fifth best prospect going into the next season.

Unfortunately, that was followed by the worst-case scenario whereby he missed almost all of 2019 thanks to a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. The injury also sapped pretty much all the power from his swing in the few games he did play, dropping all the way down to a 52 wRC+ and dropping right off the prospect lists.

You may have heard about the global pandemic that wiped out the entire 2020 minor league season and so Montero has no stats on record for that year either.

He sat in this limbo for two years before being traded to the Rockies as a part of the Arenado deal and very few people on the outside knew what to expect. Could he ever regain his form from before the injury? Or did the Rox just trade a franchise icon for a washed-up prospect?

Montero got right to answering those questions and ignoring all the drama surrounding the deal that landed him in Double-A Hartford to start the 2021 season. He got right to work, pummeling the pitching of the east coast to the tune of a 137 wRC+ buoyed by 22 home runs in 92 games.

Talk of prior injuries or rust subsided as a .523 slugging percentage became the focus. With this performance, he pulled himself out of limbo and clearly earned the confidence of his coaches and front office who determined to promote him to Triple-A near the end of the season.

Despite him only having just arrived in the organization and all the question marks coming in, the Rockies once again felt justified in their challenge of young Montero who went right to feeling comfortable at the top level of the minors.

It would be a stretch to say he continued to dominate but it would be a lie to say that he didn’t impress immensely given the circumstances.

A slashline of .278/.355/.546 for a 119 wRC+ while striking out only 16 percent of the time is a very promising first 28 games for the Isotopes.

This all begs the question of whether or not the Rockies will continue to push him and whether or not he will continue to answer the call.

Colorado is in an interesting place with Montero who is locked into playing either third or first base and bring decent but certainly not plus defense so far. They also already have those positions filled as of now with Ryan McMahon and C.J. Cron unless the former is moved to shortstop.

The same could be said for fellow prospect-looking-to-make-an-impact, Colton Welker.

Ultimately, though, as all ballplayers know, if you hit, you’ll play. And Montero looks like he might just keep hitting his way up the ladder.

Could he make the Opening Day roster? Could he even make the Opening Day starting lineup?

The answer to those questions will be found in Elehuris Montero’s bat.