Braden

Montgomery

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.

Montgomery also had an RBI single in the fourth, but obviously that’s not the headline. The 23-year-old came to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the tenth and the White Sox trailing by one, and he connected on his first MLB roundtripper to give Chicago the walk-off win. Montgomery is one of the best outfield prospects in the sport, and while fantasy managers have to be prepared for ups and downs from the outfielder in his rookie campaign, the talent is obvious. He’s absolutely worthy of roster consideration right now.

Montgomery will be making his MLB debut Tuesday against the Braves. The 12th pick of the 2023 draft, Montgomery was acquired in the Garret Crochet blockbuster, and the 23-year-old has a chance to be a contributor in several fantasy categories. He’s worth roster consideration for those who need the outfield help.

Matt Snyder of CBS Sports was the first to report the promotion, and it’s since been confirmed by every White Sox writer since. Montgomery is the 31st-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, and the 23-year-old hit .313/.429/.606 in 27 games at Double-A this season with six home runs and two steals before getting promoted to Triple-A, where he has hit .315/.417/.495 with four home runs, 32 runs scored, 19 RBI, and three steals in 29 games. He’s not on the 40-man roster, so the White Sox will need to make a few roster moves to call him up, but Montgomery could be added over guys like Henry Bolte and Ryan Waldschmidt if he were to be called up.

Montgomery is the 31st-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, and came to the White Sox from the Red Sox as part of the Garrett Crochet trade. The 23-year-old is hitting .313/.429/.606 in 27 games at Double-A this season with six home runs and two steals. He also has 32 strikeouts, which is a bit more than you’d like to see, but 21 walks will also help to counteract that a little bit. Montgomery is an advanced prospect and could debut for the White Sox towards the end of the season.