Could Braden Montgomery Contribute To White Sox In 2026?

Montgomery is still just 22 years old and graduated Texas A&M in 2024 after slugging 27 home runs and posting a 1.187 OPS.

It'd be a faster path to the big leagues than most, especially considering Edgar Quero is the only 22-year-old on this year's roster.

White Sox think highly of No. 1 prospect

But as White Sox director of player development Paul Janish has watched Montgomery this season, he's noticed some rare traits.

"For somebody who didn't get the opportunity to go out last year in the year that he got drafted –– due to injury, obviously –– this was a pretty dang good first full season," Janish said. "We all know that the potential –– the thing that sticks out about Braden even after knowing him for a year now in the house, so to speak, is just the work ethic, right. It's crazy how much he wants to be good. I joke about some of the guys that I had the opportunity to play with, you run across a lot of guys who were good on accident kind of thing, but I didn't run across any that were great on accident. And Braden's got that kind of makeup, right."

Janish noted Montgomery, like all prospects, has things to work on. That includes his swing decisions at the plate, as he struck out 130 times this season compared to just 57 walks. Janish also mentioned Montgomery's defensive improvements in the outfield and that he became a better base runner throughout the year, including 14 stolen bases.

"Really impressive kid," Janish said. "From an ability standpoint, he can do some things other people can't do, as we all know. So we'll continue to facilitate the work ethic that he has and try to help him be diligent with what he needs to do because at the end of the day there's one league that he wants to play in, and assuming health, I'm pretty comfortable he's gonna get there. We just gotta make sure it's the right time."