Colson

Montgomery

Montgomery’s 12th homer of the season came in the second inning off of Cubs starter Edward Cabrera, who hung a changeup over the middle of the plate, which Montgomery deposited into right-center field. Montgomery has now homered in back-to-back games and three times in his last five.

Like fellow left-handed hitters Colson Montgomery and Tristan Peters, Antonacci will take a seat with left-handed Kris Bubic toeing the slab for the Royals. Randal Grichuk will start in his place in left field and bat cleanup for the White Sox on Thursday evening.

While it didn’t seem like a huge deal at the moment, Montgomery’s solo shot in the seventh inning put the White Sox up by three and wound up being the difference in this game. That was his 11th homer of the season and left the park in a hurry with a 110 mph exit velocity. His batting average sits at a lowly .230, but those home runs still make him a fantasy asset.

Montgomery’s ninth homer of the season gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The 24-year-old also singled and improved his slash to .236/.341/.509. Montgomery’s swing-and-miss issues make hitting for average unlikely, but the power is readily apparent, and makes him a potential fantasy star.

Montgomery hit fifth, and he’s now started eight of 10 games against lefties this year. He usually hits cleanup when the White Sox face a righty. The young shortstop recently homered in four straight contests, continuing his slugging ways despite a high strikeout rate.

It’s been a nightmarish start to the season for Montgomery. After closing last season on a 50-homer pace through his 71-game debut, he has just a .175 batting average and 24 strikeouts through 18 games thus far. His raw power and defense remain elite, but it’s fair to fear how much this strikeout issue could hold him back.

The HBP off his left wrist probably should have been ruled a swinging strike, but the White Sox already had one humiliation there with Andrew Benintendi earlier this month and didn’t need another already. Montgomery is batting .200/.302/.418 with three homers in 16 games.

Montgomery snapped a scoreless tie in the fourth inning as he ripped a one-out double off of Seth Lugo that plated Munetaka Murakami. That would be all the run support that Anthony Kay and company would require in this one. The 24-year-old shortstop continues to be productive for fantasy purposes despite his poor batting average, slashing .200/.308/.378 with a pair of home runs, seven RBI, one stolen base and a 17/5 K/BB ratio in his first 52 plate appearances.

Montgomery drew a walk in the fourth inning, then extended the White Sox lead with a solo homer off Brendon Little in the sixth, just getting over the right field wall at 348 feet, 92.9. mph off the bat. We’ll still take those. The 24-year-old shortstop is 6-for-29 with six RBI and a steal while striking out 11 times in the early going.

It’s the lowest Mongomery has hit in Chicago’s lineup this season as Toronto throws lefty Mason Fluharty on Saturday afternoon in the Windy City. The 24-year-old shortstop is off to an ice-cold start at the dish, hitting .192 (5-for-26) with one homer, five RBI and one steal through seven games. He’s struck out in 34.5 percent of his 29 plate appearances so far. It’s admittedly a small sample size, but he continues to look like a batting average liability without enough big-time power upside to make him a viable mixed-league option in shallow fantasy formats.