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Mets pitcher Rafael Montero throws a bullpen session on Tuesday while being observed by, left to right, Mets president Saul Katz and team owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon.

(Photo by John Munson/The Star-Ledger)

VIERA, Fla. — Rafael Montero was 17 years old when he decided to leave his rural hometown of Sabana Higuero, nestled near the Haitian border, and move 250 kilometers southeast to the Dominican capital city of Santo Domingo. Alongside one of his eight older brothers, he relocated with one goal in mind: to play professional baseball.

It is the common dream of children across the baseball-crazy Dominican Republic. But by the time a player reaches 17 years of age, it is often considered too late for him to attract enough attention from scratch to intrigue a Major League Baseball team.

Montero, who has a first-grade education, had played recreationally growing up in Higuerito, but never in a structured format. He was aware of the uphill climb. It fueled him to work harder. Every morning he would wake up at 6:30 to train with his brother. When the brother went to work at a hardware store, Montero would go to the local park to train some more.

New York Mets prospect Rafael Montero impresses on the mound 7 Gallery: New York Mets prospect Rafael Montero impresses on the mound

He arrived in Santo Domingo with a fastball that topped out at 89 miles per hour. By the time he was 20 years old, it was at 94. When the Mets discovered Montero, they found a finished product, a rare talent that had slipped through the cracks. Bidding was minimal and they signed him on Jan. 20, 2011, for $90,000.

"I thought I had a chance," Montero said in Spanish hours before he made his Grapefruit League debut last night. "I just needed to work hard so that when I was 19 or 20 I would sign. And that’s how it happened. God helped me and I signed."

Montero was the beneficiary of a recent development. Before taking his current post, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson was appointed to oversee MLB’s initiatives in the Dominican Republic. He said a transition he helped set forth has been made in recent years as showcases for players between the ages of 18 and 20 have surfaced.

"Until the last three or four years, it was extremely rare because when kids don’t sign at age 16 or 17, they’re often confined to the waste bin," Alderson said. "I think clubs began realizing that there was a market of players who were of that age that had been overlooked, so clubs started to go back in to take another look."

Montero quickly impressed in 2011. Also featuring a changeup, slider and sinker in his arsenal, he posted a 2.15 ERA over 71 innings in 17 appearances, 12 of which were starts, between rookie ball and low-A Brooklyn.

Last season he emerged as a bona fide prospect. In 20 combined starts with low-A Savannah and high-A St. Lucie, the diminutive Montero — he is generously listed at 6-foot, 170 pounds — had an 11-5 record and 2.36 ERA over 122 innings. He walked just one batter per nine innings with Savannah and ratcheted up his strikeout rate per nine innings to 9.9 in 50 2/3 innings with St. Lucie. He had 110 strikeouts to only 19 walks between the two stops.

He was then named the Mets’ Sterling Organizational Pitcher of the Year. Baseball America now ranks Montero the Mets’ fifth-best prospect.

"He keeps the ball down," Mets bullpen coach Ricky Bones explained. "He throws strikes and has the confidence in his pitches. And his composure on the mound, his mound presence is impressive for a 22-year-old."

Yesterday, Montero started against the Nationals, his first test against major-league hitting. He arrived at Space Coast Stadium unaware that he would be opposite the phenom Stephen Strasburg.

He allowed a leadoff double to Denard Span in the first, but left him stranded by retiring the next three hitters. He allowed two doubles in the second, but left the damage at just one run. The Mets ended up tying the Nationals, 4-4 in 10 innings.

"I wasn’t nervous," Montero said afterward.

Five years removed from a fateful decision, he was living the dream he set out for.

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