Colson Montgomery looks to rebound from a disappointing season with the Knights

Colson Montgomery looks to rebound from a disappointing season with the Knights

The White Sox former top prospect is hoping to recapture prior lofty status in Charlotte and make his way to Chicago.

In the 2021 MLB Draft, the Chicago White Sox selected SS Colson Montgomery with the 22nd overall pick out of Southridge High School in Jasper, IN. The scouting staff was enamored at the 6’3” prep player’s offensive upside. His swing and approach projected both power and average. He possessed enough athletic ability to indicate that he could remain at short stop. He was an older player for the high school ranks, but every metric indicated he could move swiftly and reach the majors at an early age.

Early indications were that the scouts’ assessment were correct. After only making 111 plate appearances in rookie ball after signing in 2021, the White Sox got aggressive with Montgomery’s development in 2022. He adapted to the fast pace of his promotion with relative ease. He moved from Low A Ball to Double A in one season. He performed very well in his two stops in the minor league’s lowest full season levels. With Low A Kannapolis, Montgomery, who was almost a full year younger than the Carolina League average, put up a .324/.424/.477 line and a .901 OPS. He displayed adequate plate discipline with a 26:42 BB to K ratio. His .941 fielding percentage gave credence to the notion that he could remain at short stop.

The White Sox were sufficiently impressed that he received a mid-season promotion to High A Winston-Salem of the South Atlantic League. Again, he was younger than most players in this league, this time by two and a half years. Despite the age difference, his strike zone judgement improved, and he drew the same amount of walks as times he struck out with 26 apiece. He suffered from bad luck as that ratio did not translate to hits. His slash line with the Dash was .258/.387/.417 and an OPS of .803 in 36 games. His defense remained consistent with a fielding percentage of .938. His progress began to get him noticed and he started to appear on top prospect lists both for the organization and the minors as a whole.

This led to Montgomery’s third promotion of 2022. He was assigned to the Double A Birmingham Barons, the one-time summer home of Michael Jordan. At age 20, Montgomery was 4.5 years younger than the Southern League average. This time, the aggressive push appeared to be a leap too long. Montgomery got into 14 games and made 52 plate appearances. He produced a slash line of .146/.192/.292 and an OPS of .484. The advanced pitching overwhelmed him, and he drew only two walks against 15 strikeouts. He did manage two home runs and seven RBI in his brief time in Double A. The one aspect of his game that saw increased effectiveness was his fielding. He had a fielding percentage of .953. At the conclusion of the 2022 season, Montgomery was named the White Sox top prospect by Baseball America heading into the 2023 season.

If the end of Montgomery’s 2022 season was disappointing, the start of his 2023 season was downright abysmal. He missed the first three months due to back and oblique injuries. Because of those injuries and the realization that they had been too aggressive with their push of Montgomery, the team returned him to Winston-Salem to begin 2023. High A proved to be of little challenge to him as he slashed .345/.537/.552 with an OPS of 1.088 in 82 plate appearances during 17 games. The White Sox returned the still underaged prospect to Birmingham to finish his abbreviated season. He was better prepared in his second stint with the Barons and had a greatly improved his 25:36 BB to K ratio and a slash line of .244/.400/.428 for a respectable OPS of .828. He only appeared in 54 full season games, but that was enough to get him named to the Arizona Fall League prospect showcase.

As a member of the Glendale Desert Dogs, Montgomery was still younger than the rest of the league by 1.4 years. The age difference did not keep him from blasting three home runs and driving in 20 in 20 games. However, he was susceptible to more advanced pitching and struck out 27 times in only 90 plate appearances. His defense remained consistent. He committed only three errors in 71 chances, a .958 fielding percentage. His performance earned him a spot on the Fall Star Game roster and the 17th overall spot in Baseball America’s minor league rankings. He fell to second in the White Sox rankings, but that was only because of the drafting of highly regarded high school LHP Noah Schultz that June.

The White Sox had to suspect 2024 could be a difficult year for the franchise. That premonition was about the only thing the organization got right. The parent club lost a modern era record 121 games. The hope they offered fans was that prospects like Montgomery would soon be on the way to the South Side. They challenged him by assigning him to the Triple A Charlotte Knights. Like just about everything else in 2024, the decision went poorly. 

Montgomery, who was 4.3 years below the International League average, hit 18 home runs and drove in 63. However, in selling out to achieve more power, he lost his command of the strike zone and the ability to hit the ball to all fields. He struck out a whopping 164 times and drew only 69 walks in 573 plate appearances over 130 games. Montgomery’s swing had become too pull heavy. His OPS dipped to a replacement level .715. He remained the White Sox second best prospect but slipped to Baseball America’s 38th top overall prospect. The silver lining for Montgomery and the organization was that he remained healthy, and his defense remained steady. He posted a career best .963 fielding percentage. Despite the .214/.329/.381 slash line, he was once again sent to the Arizona Fall League.

Returning to the Glendale roster, Montgomery adjusted to his swing in order to generate more consistent contact without sacrificing his power. The adjustments he implemented paid off in an albeit small sample size of 45 plate appearances. He had four home runs and 11 RBI. His slash line was .313/.511/.656 with an OPS of 1.167. He even stole four bases. In addition to changes to his batting approach, Montgomery added third base to his resume. He was flawless in 11 chances at the hot corner.

Montgomery’s prospect status might have suffered a ding or two in 2024, but it still remains among the best in all of the minor leagues. There is good news in all of this for Knights’ fans. The probability is high that he will return to Charlotte in 2025. He still is among the youngest players at the Triple A level. The White Sox will want him to continue to work on his swing in a less pressure filled environment. Montgomery should also use his time at Truist Field to add to his versatility by getting games played at third base. This means fans should see him in a Knights uniform for the bulk of the summer.

The White Sox have significant issues at the major league level. Colson Montgomery is a young player on whom the hopes of baseball fans in the Second City can be pinned. It is reasonable to expect that he will be a better player for having gone through his troubles of 2024. He should be able to put the finishing touches on his prospect status in Charlotte next season. For everyone involved, it is a hope that very much needs to be realized.