The White Sox will have two representatives in the All-Star Futures Game. On Tuesday the MLB announced that infielder Colson Montgomery and left-hander Noah Shultz were named to the American League roster.
The Futures Game is an annual seven-inning exhibition that features at least one prospect from every team. This year’s game will take place on July 13th in Arlington Texas.
Montgomery and Shultz are listed as the White Sox No. 1 and No. 2 prospects. Montgomery made one of the biggest jumps in MLB Pipelines’ recently updated Top 100 Prospect list, rising from 37th to 18th. White Sox starter Drew Thorpe, who is only four starts into his MLB career also jumped 14 spots on the list from 52 to 38. Montgomery is the White Sox highest ranked prospect coming in as the No. 16th ranked prospect in baseball.
Montgomery has struggled a bit in Triple-A Charlotte this season, slashing .213/.329/.378. However, he has shown good patience at the plate drawing 40 walks in 267 at-bats. That nearly 15 percent walk rate is paired with a 34 percent strikeout rate, which the White Sox would like to see him cut down. The good news is when Montgomery has put the ball in play he has shown a bit of power. The 22-year-old has 10 home runs and 32 RBIs on the season.
Shultz was promoted to Double-A Birmingham in May after posting a 3.95 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 42 strikeouts over his first 27.1 innings in Winston-Salem. The jump in competition hasn’t affected the 6’9” southpaw. In his first six starts with the Barons, he owns a 1.93 ERA and has limited opponents to a .193 batting average in 23.1 innings. Shultz has also racked up 30 strikeouts with a 0.81 WHIP.
It is easy to see why the White Sox organization is high on both of these players. On July 13th they will have the opportunity to showcase their talent on a national stage.
