Outfielder Luis Montanez has signed an agreement letter to join the Orioles' organization. He's made the commitment, and all that's left is signing the contract, which should happen shortly.

I just spoke with his agent, Francis Marquez, who said Montanez chose the Orioles over about 14 other teams because of one determining factor: The chance to play in the majors in 2007.

"He feels that he has that opportunity from speaking to the Orioles," Marquez said. "Worst-case scenario, he starts out at Triple-A Norfolk and moves up later in the summer."

Montanez, the third overall pick in the 2000 draft, already has been told that he'll be invited to spring training. The Orioles apparently were very aggressive in pursuing him, with Dave Stockstill, director of minor league operations, referring to him as "a priority guy," according to Marquez.

"I think he has a lot of baseball left in him, a lot of that prospect luster," Marquez said. "He has a ton of talent. He still has all those tools. I think he can be a serviceable major league player. And I think he can be a starter."

Montanez is regarded as a full-time outfielder now, but the middle infield experience certainly won't hurt. He was batting .369 at Double-A before the Cubs promoted him one level, where he became a part-time player, starting about four times a week and souring his opinion of the organization.

"He didn't feel like he got a fair shot," Marquez said.

The Orioles apparently will give him one. It doesn't hurt that he's a right-handed batter, something else that Marquez noted.

"The more we discussed it," Marquez said, "it just felt right."

Montanez, who is preparing to play winter ball in Puerto Rico, has other ties to the Orioles besides former manager Dave Trembley. John Stockstill, director of professional, major league and international scouting, was the Cubs' assistant scouting director when they drafted Montanez.

http://blogs.baltimoresun.com/sports_
custom_roch/2006/11/its_confirmed.html
Alright, so who knows anything about this guy? A #3 overall pick, who hits .369 in AA, and then moves up and doesn't get full playing time? What was wrong with him? I have a feeling the Orioles front-office and scouting department really see something in him, so much that they might even count on Montanez to push for the starting job in left field. What can I be expecting out of him?