The White Sox have embarked on another rebuild and much like their previous attempt the organization has a farm system loaded with talent. However, one of their top prospects was recently excluded from MLB Pipeline’s position player rankings.
Noah Shultz and Hagen Smith were featured at the top of MLB Pipeline’s list of top 10 left-handed pitching prospects. It marks just the second time in 15 years, which has included 120 lists, that the No. 1 and No. 2 prospects at a position belong to the same organization. This of course does not guarantee anything since Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, and Dylan Cease were all ranked inside MLB Pipeline’s top-100 prospects back in 2017 and are now no longer on the team.
A major reason why the last rebuild failed was the lack of offensive depth in the farm system. Because of this a lot of resources were invested into Colson Montgomery, who was selected with the 22nd pick of the 2021 draft. Montgomery is now considered the No. 37th-ranked prospect in baseball.
However, after a down year that saw him slash .214/.329/.381 in 130 games in Triple-A Charlotte, MLB Pipeline left Montgomery off their list of top-10 shortstops. A 29 percent strikeout rate certainly didn’t help matters. However, it’s worth noting that Montgomery was four years younger than the average Triple-A player last season. For comparison the Tampa Bay Rays’ 21-year-old prospect, Carson Williams, who was at the top of the list, batted .256 with a .821 OPS last season, Williams also had 20 home runs and 69 RBIs to Montgomery’s 18 and 63.
Things weren’t all bad for Montgomery, who has already drawn comparisons to Corey Seager. Teammates say he was unphased by his struggles with Sean Burke telling MLB.com that he is “the same guy every day, whether he’s hitting .400 or hitting .100.”
That level of maturity will pay dividends at the MLB level. The 22-year-old recently spoke with MLB Network he has been working to add more strength and muscle during the offseason, while still being athletic enough to stick at shortstop.
His training has occurred at the Bledsoe Agency in Nashville which serves as Jake Burger, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Brandon Lowe’s training facility. Montgomery told MLB Network that he feels like training under the same roof as established big leaguers is a good way to pick up good habits.
The upcoming season is going to be critical for Montgomery. He is projected to reach the big leagues at some point in 2025. But before doing so he is going to have to prove that he can cut down on his strikeouts. The organization is confident that he can do so. “Hitting’s hard,” White Sox director of player development Paul Janish told MLB.com. “I continue to embrace the thought that this is part of [Montgomery’s] development.
