White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Ready for 2023 Double-A debut
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The White Sox promoted Montgomery from High-A Winston-Salem to Double-A Birmingham on Monday, James Fox of SoxMachine.com reports.
The 21-year-old infielder spent the tail end of the 2022 campaign at Birmingham and slashed .146/.192/.292 over 52 plate appearances, prompting the organization to assign him to Winston-Salem to start the 2023 season. After straining his oblique in the spring and later suffering a back strain, Montgomery opened the campaign on the 7-day injured list before beginning a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on June 19. He was then activated from Winston-Salem's IL on July 4 and posted a 1.089 OPS over 17 games with the affiliate to earn his way back to Birmingham. Now healthy and a year older, Montgomery should be better equipped to find more success in his second stint in the Southern League.
Montgomery (oblique/back) will begin a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League on Monday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
Montgomery has been sidelined all season with a strained oblique and a back injury but is finally ready to test things out in a game setting. The top prospect will eventually be assigned to Double-A Birmingham once the White Sox feel he's ready.
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White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Begins baseball activities
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Montgomery (oblique/back) has begun baseball activities at extended spring training, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
Montgomery has been out all season with an oblique injury and more recently a back issue. It sounds like it will still be a little while before he's ready for games, but the top prospect is eventually expected to be assigned to Double-A Birmingham.
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White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Further delayed by back injury
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White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Thursday that Montgomery (oblique) is now also dealing with a mid-back strain, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
Montgomery was placed on the minor-league injured list before the start of the season due to a strained oblique, and his 2023 debut has been further delayed by this new back issue. Hahn said there's no timeline for when the 21-year-old outfield prospect will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Winston-Salem. Once fully healthy, Montgomery is expected to report to Double-A Birmingham.
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White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Going back to High-A once healthy
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Montgomery (oblique) is expected to get a brief tuneup at High-A Winston-Salem once healthy before heading to Double-A Birmingham, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports.
Despite reaching Double-A at the end of last season, Montgomery will put the finishing touches on his development at High-A, where he slashed .258/.387/.417 in 37 games in 2022. He is expected to be activated near the end of April.
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White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Out until late April
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Montgomery (oblique) isn't expected to make his minor-league season debut until late April, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
Montgomery will stay back in extended spring training for a couple weeks while continuing to rehab a strained oblique. The top prospect ended last season at Double-A Birmingham and could head back there once healthy.
White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Invited to MLB spring training
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Montgomery has been invited to the major-league side of White Sox camp this spring.
It's an opportunity for Montgomery to familiarize himself with the players -- and, more importantly, coaches -- on Chicago's current major-league roster/staff. Selected in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of a high school in Indiana, the 20-year-old top shortstop prospect batted .274/.381/.429 with 11 home runs and 17 doubles in 96 games between three different levels of the minor leagues in 2022. He finished the 2022 season at Double-A Birmingham.
White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Struggles in Double-A stint
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Montgomery finished out the 2022 campaign at Double-A Birmingham, where he struggled to a .146/.192/.484 line over 14 games. However, his season line across three levels was .274/.381/.429 with 11 home runs in 96 games.
Montgomery's most evident skill this season was his plate discipline, but that totally fell apart in Double-A, where he struck out 15 times and walked just twice in 52 plate appearances. Nonetheless, there's no reason to judge him too harshly for falling flat as a 20-year-old in Double-A. The White Sox may have been a bit overly aggressive in moving him up, but they'll surely give him plenty of time to acclimate at that level next season with an eye on a 2024 debut. With Tim Anderson holding down the fort at shortstop (when healthy), there's no need to rush Montgomery.
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White Sox's Colson Montgomery: OBP machine in minors
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Montgomery is hitting .271/.403/.417 with four homers and more walks (19) than strikeouts (17) through 26 games since his promotion to High-A Winston-Salem.
After putting up a solid 26:42 BB:K in Single-A, Montgomery has improved his walk rate at the higher level while slashing his strikeout rate to an impressive 14.3 percent. That said, he hasn't produced a whole lot of pop, having hit just eight homers through 71 games, and there's no speed in the profile either (one steal). He'll have to do a better job tapping into his raw power to become a fantasy contributor in the long run, but having his level of pitch recognition at the tender age of 20 gives him a good foundation to build on.
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White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Strong season continues
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Montgomery has reached base safely in 20 consecutive games for Single-A Kannapolis, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Montgomery is putting together an impressive season with Kannapolis as a 20-year-old. He's maintained a 14.1 percent walk rate while striking out at just a 20.5 percent clip, which has helped him maintain a .409 wOBA and 146 wRC+. Though the organization isn't likely to rush the development its 2021 first-round pick, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Montgomery pushed up to High-A Winston-Salem at some point in the coming weeks.
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White Sox's Colson Montgomery: Hitting well in Kannapolis
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Montgomery went 1-for-3 with five RBI in Tuesday's 14-2 win over Low-A Fredericksburg.
Montgomery delivered a three-RBI double in the fourth inning and later drove in two additional runs via hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly. The 20-year-old was selected 22nd overall in the 2021 first-year player draft by the White Sox and has spent the early portions of the 2022 season with Low-A Kannapolis. Early on, Montgomery has delivered a 134 wRC+ and seven extra-base hits across 51 plate appearances.
