The White Sox’s top prospect is on the move.
As first reported by Future Sox’s James Fox, shortstop Colson Montgomery has been promoted back to Double-A Birmingham. Once the roster move is made official, Montogmery is expected to be with the team on Tuesday evening for the start of their series against the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
Montgomery, 21, spent several months on the injured list after suffering an oblique injury just five plate appearances into the season. A back injury later on only slowed his recovery further, but Montgomery eventually returned to action with the Arizona Complex League team on June 19.
During a 10-game rehab with the ACL White Sox, Montogmery slashed .353/.511/.588 (12-for-34) with a home run, six driven in, and 11 walks. He showed no signs of complications or struggles, albeit the competition was much easier. That success, however, has only carried over with Montogmery to High-A Winston-Salem.
In 17 games for the Dash, the White Sox’s prized shortstop prospect kept up the pace by slashing .345/.537/.552 (20-for-58) with three homers, 10 RBI, 24.4% walk rate, 196 wRC+, and 1.089 OPS. It seems likely now that Montogmery will finish out the minor league season with a much more extended look in Birmingham before potentially spending some time in the Arizona Fall League.
Across three levels last season, Montgomery hit .274/.381/.429 with 11 home runs and really didn’t show many signs of struggling until he tired towards the end of the season with Birmingham. Currently coming in as baseball’s 20th-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline and 30th by Baseball America, the expectation is for Montgomery to only continue his ascent up the rankings as he progresses through the farm system. Despite this year’s injury, the 2021 first-rounder still appears to be on track for a major-league promotion sometime in 2024, barring any other setbacks.
We will continue to monitor Montgomery’s performance as he gets set for his second stint in Double-A Birmingham. Be sure to follow us on social media @SoxOn35th for more!
Featured Photo: MLB Pipeline