The Yankees are expected to promote prospect Jesus Montero when rosters expand Thursday.

Finally. Montero is currently having his best month of the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .308/.370/.604 with eight homers and a .974 OPS. The Yankees likely won't test him behind the plate, but he should get some at-bats as the designated hitter against left-handed starters. With his eligibility behind the plate, the 21-year-old should be owned in AL-only and even some deeper two-catcher mixed-formats.

SI.com's Jon Heyman suspects that the Yankees won't promote Jesus Montero until September 1.

The Yanks are in need of a consistent option at designated hitter and Montero might be able to provide that, but it sounds like a move won't be coming within the next two weeks. Montero, 21, has 13 homers and 55 RBI in 97 games this year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The Yankees are considering promoting top prospect Jesus Montero to the majors before roster expand on September 1.

The issue became a little more pressing on Sunday, when manager Joe Girardi benched Jorge Posada. At-bats at designated hitter are available for the 21-year-old prodigy rated the No. 6 overall prospect in baseball by MLB.com. Montero is batting .289 with 11 homers and 51 RBI at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

According to SI's Jon Heyman, the Yankees are expected to promote Jesus Montero in a "couple weeks."

In other words, fantasy owners will likely have to wait until mid-August. Montero, 21, is batting .283/.341/.429 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI through 86 games this season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He's likely to split time between catcher and designated hitter in the major leagues.

According to the Trenton Times, Yankees prospect Jesus Montero could be promoted "in the very near future."

Montero has posted a somewhat disappointing .283/.342/.429 batting line in 84 games this season at the Triple-A level, but the Yankees love his power potential and apparently feel that he's nearly ready to contribute to the major league lineup. The 21-year-old would likely split time between DH and catcher. He slugged 21 homers in the minors last year and has 10 big flies this season.

Yankees prospect catcher Jesus Montero was placed on the 7-day disabled list with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre due to a back injury.

Montero was placed on the DL retroactive to July 4, so he could be back early next week. The 21-year-old is batting .289/.346/.418 with seven homers, 33 RBI and a .763 OPS over 298 plate appearances this season. Assuming the injury is minor, we should probably get used to hearing his name bandied about in trade rumors (both real and fictional) over the next few weeks.

Yankees prospect Jesus Montero was benched two games earlier this month for showing a lack of energy.

Montero has slugged just five home runs this season and thrown out only eight of 45 base stealers while sometimes showing a lack of focus. He's still a great prospect at the age of 21 and represents the future at catcher for the Yankees, but it seems he might have some maturity issues. "I think he expected to be in the big leagues by now," said Mark Newman, the Yankees' vice president of baseball operations. "And that is OK, too. Part of the development process is to learn how to deal with frustration, learn how to deal with things when they don't go exactly your way."

Yankees prospect catcher Jesus Montero underwent an MRI on his groin, which came back negative.

Montero missed Monday's game after being hit in the groin with a foul ball on Sunday, but it doesn't sound like he'll need to miss much time. The prized prospect is batting .407 (24-for-59) with one home run, four doubles and four RBI to begin the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Yankees prospect Jesus Montero is being sent for an MRI of his groin area.

Montero was struck in his protective cup by a ball on Sunday afternoon at Triple-A and had to be pulled early because of the pain. It's not known when he will be back. The promising 21-year-old has a .925 OPS through 60 plate appearances this season.

Jesus Montero went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles Tuesday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Montero lost out on a chance to open the season as Russell Martin's backup, and he's decided to take it out on International League pitchers. He's 12-for-25 with a homer through five games.

Yankees assigned C Jesus Montero to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Not completely unexpected. Montero would have been a backup in the Bronx to begin the season, so he's better off playing every day in the minor leagues. The Yankees will certainly be in the mix for a starting pitcher at some point this season, so get ready to hear lots of rumors about Montero. Non-roster invitee Doug Bernier, an infielder, was also assigned to Triple-A.

The New York Daily News reported that it appears increasingly likely Jesus Montero will not make the Opening Day roster.

Scouts have noted that the young catcher has regressed behind the plate, which is a significant red flag for a player whose defense is already suspect. Add to that his hitting woes this spring, and it no longer would be surprising if Montero spends another few months -- if not the whole year -- at Triple-A.

Jesus Montero struggled with his defense behind the plate Friday.

The Yankees have been generally pleased with Montero's improvement on defense up to this point, but he had a bad day Friday, dropping a couple pitches, throwing poorly to second base and not blocking balls in the dirt well. "He is a work in progress and there has been a lot thrown at him quickly," manager Joe Girardi said. "To me, the defense has to come first. That's the first thing I told him." Montero is also hitting just .136 (3-for-22) so far, but the bat is of no concern. Though he's still viewed as the favorite to back up Russell Martin, Montero could be losing ground to Austin Romine.

Jesus Montero has become the sudden favorite to win the Yankees' backup catching gig.

Francisco Cervelli fouled a ball off his left foot in a spring game earlier this week and tests Friday revealed a fracture. He will miss at least the next four weeks, leaving a gaping hole behind starting catcher Russell Martin. Austin Romine is in the mix, but the Yanks may be tempted to make the 21-year-old Montero an active backup until Cervelli returns. We'd sure like to see it.

Jesus Montero has been displaying surprisingly good defensive skills this spring.

While few question his hitting abilities, Montero's defense has been his biggest weakness. His movement up the Yankees' depth chart hinges, in part, on showing improvement behind the plate. If he continues progressing, it would not be surprising to see him on the team's Opening Day roster.

Jesus Montero said that he's ready for the majors, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman hinted that he does not want to rush the organization's highly touted prospect.

Regarding Montero's chances to join the team out of spring training, Cashman said, "Russell Martin's presence here will allow for that to develop and be finished off in the proper way rather than in a rushed way." Montero is expected to battle Francisco Cervelli and Austin Romine for the backup catcher spot. One more year in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre certainly is a possibility.

The Yankees are prepared to give catching prospect Jesus Montero a shot at claiming the big league job heading into next season.

Jorge Posada, 39, caught only 92 games this year and is expected to move into the DH role next season. Montero still needs to work on his defense, but he hit .289 with 21 home runs and 75 RBI over 123 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2010 and is capable of rising to the challenge. The 20-year-old can secure the spot with a strong showing next spring.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that top prospects Jesus Montero, Andrew Brackman and Dellin Betances are expected to join the team, however they will not be added to the active roster.

The trio are expected to only work out with the team before games. They'll also get to stick around when the Yankees clinch yet another trip to the postseason, so all in all, not a bad deal. Among the three, Brackman is the only one on the 40-man roster, so he could still be added without having to make a corresponding roster move.

Yankees prospect Jesus Montero had surgery Wednesday to clear up an infection in his ankle.

"It's minor, but I think he's going to be out for the (Triple-A) playoffs," said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. This should squash any chance of Montero making his major league debut this month. One of the top hitting prospects in all of baseball, the 20-year-old backstop batted .289/.353/.517 with 21 homers and 75 RBI with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season.

Yankees prospect Jesus Montero went 0-for-3 on Sunday and is batting just .234 this season for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Montero's power has also vanished, as he has just three home runs in 150-plus at-bats. "I'm not upset that I'm not hitting," he said Sunday. "I'm still the same guy ... trying to hit the ball hard every single time." To be fair, he's a 20-year-old at the Triple-A level and the struggles are perfectly warranted. But hopefully he'll get on track soon.