The White Sox have not given fans too much to be excited about at the major league level this season. However, the prospects in the minor leagues have. There are a lot of talented prospects in the system that are close to contributing at the major league level. None are more exciting than White Sox top prospect and #11 in all of baseball, Colson Montgomery.
Montgomery started the season off kind of slow, which worried a lot of fans. But, he has been heating up as of late and has been a tough out. While his current statline is not eye popping, he has improved over the last few months, showing he is starting to adapt to AAA pitching.
Overall on the season, he is hitting .226 with six home runs, 16 RBIs, and three stolen bases. He has a solid .350 OBP and a .771 OPS. While the average isn’t where he would like it to be, the underlying stats are encouraging.
At the end of March, Montgomery was hitting .167 with just one RBI in 12 at-bats. April wasn’t a great month for him either, as he hit .217 with three home runs and eight RBIs, but May has been a different story. So far, halfway through the month, he is hitting .263, with three home runs and seven RBIs, with a significantly higher OBP. This is a good sign, and hopefully he continues to heat up, as I’m sure many people expected more out of him to this point.
He has been driving the ball out of the park, as he could double his season home run total this month. He looks much more comfortable at the plate and you can tell he has made an adjustment.
With this recent success, could there be a promotion in his future? MLB Pipeline has his current ETA set for 2024, so there is a real chance of a promotion sooner rather than later. But, will this promotion come in the middle of the year, or will it come towards the end of the season?
There are a few factors that go into a major decision like this. First, there needs to be a clear path to playing time. At this point, I’m not sure there is, but you could easily make a clear path. As of right now, Bryan Ramos should be getting the bulk at 3rd, while DeJong is at shortstop. Second base could be open, as Nicky Lopez has not been great, but I’m not sure they start Montgomery off at second. You could trade DeJong at the deadline if you want to bring up Montgomery, which would make the most sense.
Another factor to consider is the fact that if Colson Montgomery keeps his rookie status in tact and opens up the season with the team in 2025 and goes on to win the Rookie of the Year, the White Sox would get another first round pick. I’m not sure if Chris Getz wants to operate like that, but I’m sure it is a consideration.
Regardless, it is good to see Montgomery start to heat up, as he is an important part of the White Sox future. If he keeps this up, he could force the White Sox hand to call him up sooner rather than later.
