Colson Montgomery is on track to be the best position player drafted by the White Sox since Frank Thomas. At least according to some scouts that watched him play this year.
“He’s just a monster,” a pro scout from another team told MLB.com. “He has eight raw power, probably seven-game power [on a 2-8 grading scale]. I think the only players better than him who I saw all year were Jackson Holliday and Wyatt Langford.”
That’s pretty high praise for Montgomery, considering Jackson Holiday is currently the No. 1 prospect in the MLB.
Montgomery is currently participating in the Arizona Fall League in an effort to get some extra at-bats after he was limited to just 64 games this season due to a strained oblique. The 22nd overall pick in the 2021 draft didn’t make his 2023 season debut until June.
Once he did hit the field he made the most of his time. Montgomery slashed .287/.456/.484 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs between Rookie ball, High-A, and Double-A.
Plate discipline is something that the 21-year-old has shown an abundance of in his young career. Last season he drew 56 walks. In 186 minor league games, he has already compiled 123 walks. Baseball America named Montogmery as the player with the best strike-zone discipline in the White Sox organization. He was also named as the best athlete.
It’s a rare blend of power and plate discipline that not many shortstops possess as evidenced by his .409 career OBP and .847 OPS. In 2022 he reached base safely in 50 straight games between April 24th and July 117th which was tied for the second-longest streak in the MiLB during the season.
His maturity as a hitter is one of the reasons for his early success at the plate. Montgomery’s approach is to control the zone while utilizing the entire field. As a result, he consistently makes hard contact.
“I try and just have as good an eye as I can at the plate. I stay on the fastball pretty much is what I try and do,” Montgomery told MLB.com. “The biggest thing is just being competitive. Once I get two strikes, just make it as hard as possible.
This approach dates back to his high school days at South Ridge Indiana. According to one of his former high school coaches Montgomery was batting third against a kid from Lousiville that was throwing low 90s during regionals. In his first at-bat, the kid threw underneath his hands. Montgomery got sawed off and hit a soft-line drive to end the inning. On his way back to the dugout, he was smiling from ear to ear. He told his coach, “I got him timed up. I own him for the rest of the day.” During his next three bats, he went double, double, double. Each one came off a fastball. He adjusted immediately.
MLB.com has Montgomery’s estimated time of arrival in the big leagues as 2024. The current roadblock standing in his way is Tim Anderson, who has a team option worth $14 million with a $1 million buyout. If the White Sox cut ties with Anderson it will be because they believe Montgomery is ready for the show.
While his offense is well ahead of what the organization anticipated there are some questions about his defense. At 6-foot-3, some question whether he is too big to play shortstop. His MLB player comp, Corey Seager had to overcome similar concerns about his size at the shortstop position.
In 2022 Montgomery committed 20 errors. This season he made 10 errors, all coming in Double-A. In 32 games in Double-A, he carried a .918 fielding percentage, which simply isn’t going to cut it at the MLB level.
However, there is a reason Montgomery was recruited to play basketball at the University of Indiana on top of being a star high school baseball standout. He is an incredible athlete with quick reflexes. That athleticism gives the White Sox hope that he can smooth out some of the rough edges in his game.
Even if he has to move to third base scouts still believe his bat still should make him a star.
