The Fuller Effect?

Montgomery was the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 draft and was supposed to serve as the driving force behind the "next wave" of prospects while the Sox were on their way towards a division title 4 years ago. From his entry into pro ball that year through the 2024 season, Montgomery played 316 games and slashed, in my view, an unremarkable .253/.376/.414 good for a 112 wRC+. I drew some ire last year when I wrote that I had concerns about the former Indiana prep shortstop and that his prospect star was fading. 

Fast forward to the 2025 season and his second go around in the hitter's haven that is Triple-A Charlotte and things took a turn for the worse. Through the season's first month, Colson slashed a ghastly .149/.223/.255 which penciled out to a 21 wRC+. Even more troubling was the 41.7% K rate, as the bat-to-ball skills completed evaporated. It looked as if Montgomery would be another in a long line of first round busts taken by the White Sox. 

Following play on April 27th, Colson was summoned back to the team's complex in Glendale, Arizona, for direct work with Ryan Fuller and to have a complete reset. Not much detail has been given into what was worked on during this period, but following a 5-game stint in the complex league, Montgomery returned to Charlotte on 5/13 and has looked different by all accounts.

Since his return to the Knights, the former first-rounder is performing like the player the organization staked so much of its hope on with his selection. In 46 PAs, he's hammering the baseball to the tune of a .341/.413/.634 slash line and producing a 167 wRC+. Most notably, the strikeout rate has been cut almost in half to a respectable 21.7%. Has Ryan Fuller made another mechanical adjustment allowing Montgomery to improve his bat-to-ball skills while unlocking more power from his 6-foot-5 frame?

46 PAs is a very small sample, but this is the type of positive development that was needed for the player who was earmarked as the shortstop of the future. It's too early to proclaim him #back, but it is definitely something worth monitoring.

Jacob Gonzalez

We haven't been bombarded by any insight into mechanical changes or a pilgrimage to the team's complex in the desert for the 15th overall pick in the 2023 draft like the two previously mentioned players, but something has changed with the Barons' middle infielder. I was critical of the team's selection of the Ole Miss shortstop two years ago, and in many ways, I viewed it as a parting gift from the previous regime, which failed so miserably on the draft front during its administration.

Gonzalez, who turns 23 on Friday, has been underwhelming, to say the least, since joining the Sox organization almost two years ago. Through the end of last season in his first 164 games professionally spanning 631 PAs, Gonzalez hit a very meager .233/.313/.326 with a 9.7% BB rate and 13.7% K rate. He was a player who was touted as having strong contact skills coming out of the draft, and the numbers reflect that.

However, Gonzalez wasn't impacting the baseball in a meaningful way. This season's first month didn't offer much hope either as his first 87 PAs with the Barons produced a .250/.345/.303 line.  His 11.5% BB rate showed a nice understanding of the strike zone, but the lack of impactful contact was troubling. Then the calendar flipped to May.

Since May 1, in his last 77 PAs, Gonzalez has produced a .243/.286/.500 slash line. You read that correctly, a slugging percentage starting with a 5 in Double-A Birmingham. If you dig a little deeper, you see that this month, Jacob has only a 6.5% BB rate while his K rate has held steady at 18.2%. In the last two weeks, however, things have been dialed up a notch.

In 47 PAs since 5/11, we have seen Gonzalez put together a .318/.340/.614 slash line with a 4.3% BB rate and 14.9% K rate. So, let me get this straight: he's taking fewer free passes, striking out less, and impacting the baseball more? Did Ryan Fuller come in and see that there was an approach issue with Gonzalez that was holding him back? Was there additional mechanical tweaking that took place,e which has allowed him to impact the baseball more? These are questions I would love to get answers to, but in a very small sample, the results are positive to say the least.

Time Will Tell

The three players I've highlighted today have seen significant changes to their performances in varying degrees in small samples. But are these improvements and changes the types of things that will lead to them being consistent offensive performers and hopefully helping to turn the tide for this organization's dreadful offense that has plagued it for much of recent memory? It's too early to tell, but these are the exact types of positive improvements that Ryan Fuller was brought in to make. 

The hope is that there are systematic changes taking place at all levels of the organization so that more players see their offensive potential fully unlocked. It is going to take time for us to know with a greater level of certainty whether Ryan Fuller has changed the offensive mindset of the White Sox at all levels, but these three players could serve as the first examples of the Fuller Effect.