Braden

Montgomery

Montgomery is back in right field and hitting eighth after being scratched from Sunday’s lineup with a skin infection on his right ankle. It doesn’t appear to be a concern moving forward.

The issue isn’t believed to be serious and shouldn’t require a trip to the injured list. Montgomery is considered day-to-day. Everson Pereira will start in his place in right field and bat eighth for the White Sox against Griffin Jax and the Rays on Sunday afternoon in Tampa Bay.

Montgomery delivered a run-scoring single off of Trey Yesavage in the sixth inning that increased the White Sox lead to 3-0. He also singled in the fourth inning but was left stranded there. With his two-hit attack, the 23-year-old rookie outfielder is now hitting .241/.305/.414 with three homers, 17 RBI and a 26/10 K/BB ratio through his first 128 plate appearances with the White Sox.

Montgomery scorched a three-run homer off J.T. Ginn to give the White Sox a 6-1 lead in the first. He later drove in a run on a single to left to extend the lead for the Pale hose to 7-1. Montgomery has gone deep three times since being called up, and he’s plated 12 runs over 29 games with a .696 OPS. Not elite numbers, to be sure, but Montgomery has shown the flashes of brilliance that made him such a high-ranking prospect entering the season.

Montgomery takes a seat against his former organization, receiving his first day off since June 19. The 23-year-old top prospect has delivered a couple memorable clutch hits for the upstart White Sox while slashing a respectable .233/.309/.395 with two homers and eight RBI in 97 plate appearances over 23 games since being called up last month. It’ll be Junior Perez getting a turn in right field on Tuesday night.

Montgomery led off the fifth inning with a base hit and was caught stealing second, his first steal attempt of the season. He then put the White Sox on the board with a base hit in the seventh, driving in a run to tie the game. Montgomery then bunted for a hit in the ninth to put the winning run on third before Jacob Gonzalez delivered the walk-off hit. The 23-year-old outfielder has been an everyday player since his debut, hitting .246/.302/.439 with two homers, 10 runs, and eight RBI across 63 plate appearances.

The Guardians won in 10 anyway, but this was an impressive rally against a likely All-Star who had allowed just one homer all year. Montgomery’s homer was crushed 411 feet to center. He hit that ball 107 mph and also had a 104-mph sac fly and a 107-mph groundout today. He’s hitting .250 with two homers and five doubles in 14 games since being called up.

Montgomery homered in his MLB debut on June 9, but he hasn’t done so again. He has started in right field in all but one game since then, hitting fifth through seventh. Rookie hitters are notoriously difficult to depend on, but Chicago has been a top-10 offense in runs per game this season, which helps with counting stats. It’s worth giving him a long enough leash to flash his upside this summer. The White Sox have a six-game week coming up against the Guardians and Royals.

It’s not a bad idea to give the 23-year-old rookie a night off with star southpaw Tarik Skubal toeing the slab for the Tigers. Montgomery has hit just .194 (6-for-31) with a homer, four RBI and a 10/1 K/BB ratio over 32 plate appearances in his first eight games with the White Sox. Junior Perez will start in his place in right field and bat sixth for the White Sox on Friday evening in Motown.

It was always going to be difficult for Montgomery to follow up his magic debut from Tuesday where he hit a walk-off home run. He did a decent job though with two doubles – each hit at least 98 mph – and the first of which came off Chris Sale. He looks like an exciting young player who could hit his way into a big league role for the foreseeable future.