Colson Montgomery is the Chicago White Sox Next Star Shortstop

This journey has been far from linear for Montgomery, who even spent a week in the complex league earlier this season amidst further struggles at the Triple-A level.

He opened this season hitting .149 with a strikeout rate of 40% in April prior to a two week break from Triple-A. That break included the week spent at the complex in Arizona where he worked directly with White Sox Director of Hitting Ryan Fuller.

After returning to Charlotte on May 13th, Montgomery looked instantly more comfortable with six hits in his first four games back. Sometimes, a reset is needed and that was clearly the case with Montgomery.

While the organization has not detailed the exact actions taken in his two weeks off, he returned with a more clear approach, one that leaned into his power and knack for elevating the ball both directions. While the whiff decreased from early season, there still more of a three-outcome approach to Montgomery’s game than in previous years.

From the time of his return to Triple-A until his final game there on July 2nd, Montgomery slashed .270/.353/.574 with a 130 wRC+ and 19 extra-base hits across 32 games. He took it to the next level with 11 hits including four home runs in his last six games prior to being called up.

When he was called up, there was much less buzz than we would have expected a year or two prior for Montgomery’s debut. It turns out, there still should have been.

It didn’t happen in his first game, but Montgomery recorded five hits in his subsequent two games to start off his career on a high note. Debuting in Colorado for a weekend was certainly a nice way to settle in for the 23-year-old.

His next two series were fairly quiet as he eased into the bigs, but Montgomery has taken off since the All-Star Break, particularly by leaning into the power.

In 38 games since the break, Montgomery has an .850 OPS with 16 home runs. There are few hitters in baseball showcasing more power at the dish in that span.

Despite still high whiff and chase rates, he is pummeling the ball often at the highest level. He has a posted a 13.9% barrel rate to this point and has a max exit velocity of 114.5 mph, which is tied with slugger Rafael Devers for reference.

While extremely exciting to the see the power output, there’s more to consider with Montgomery moving forward. For much of his journey through the minors, he was viewed as a candidate to shift to third base in the future as his frame continued to fill out and questions surrounding his range at shortstop followed.

After switching between shortstop and third base in the first few weeks at the MLB level, Montgomery has been the true everyday shortstop over the past month. In that time, he has not only held his own, but has graded out as an above-average defender.

He has registered 5 OAA and 3 FRV this season with especially good range when moving into the hole towards third base. Per Statcast, Montgomery has a success rate of 80% on ground balls, 3% higher than his estimated success rate of 77%.

If Montgomery can continue to show this type of performance at shortstop, the White Sox may have an everyday shortstop of the future with yearly 30-HR upside.

The last element to consider for Montgomery is that he has a ceiling to be even better. While leaning into more of the three-outcome profile has benefited him, two of those outcomes are happening more frequently than the other.

Across his first 190 plate appearances, Montgomery is averaging a home run for every 12 trips he takes to the plate. That elite home run rate has come with a healthy strikeout rate (28.3%), but the walk side of the three true outcomes has lagged behind.

As he continues to gain patience, he should increase his walk rate from the 6.8% mark it has been at so far. Despite his struggles in 2024, Montgomery walked 12% of the time across 130 Triple-A games. This year, he walked 7.9% of the time before being promoted.

Even with power being the focal point now, he should be able to increase his OBP via walks and more consistent contact with time.

At 23 years old, Montgomery has been one of the best rookies in baseball since the break and is showing that he can be a future mainstay in Chicago.

Chicago is still on pace to be just about a 100-loss team, but a 19-23 record since the break and the emergence of Montgomery among other young pieces like Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, and Shane Smith has led to some positive energy among White Sox fans.

With countless talented pitching prospects on the way in 2026 and the ability to spend a little this offseason (will they…who knows), there is a light of the tunnel. Colson Montgomery’s first two months has been an excellent step for this rebuilding club.