Did the White Sox fix shortstop prospect Colson Montgomery?
His sojourn to Arizona worried fans as the team sought to get Montgomery right after he started the season with miserable offensive numbers: a .149/.223/.255 slash line and only four extra-base hits in his first 23 games at Triple-A Charlotte.
It’s a little early to say the trip was a smashing success, but Montgomery’s numbers have improved. He slashed .361/.439/.667 with seven extra-base hits in his first nine games after returning to Charlotte, including a four-hit, two-homer performance Saturday.
“He’s much more confident in himself,” general manager Chris Getz said Friday. “He’s obviously gotten more hits; he’s had better at-bats. There’s still work to be done. . . . But he’s done a nice job.
“The goal all along was, ‘OK, we’re taking him out of the Charlotte lineup, and when he comes back, that’s when his 2025 season begins.’ For him, you can kind of eliminate the burden of making up for a slow start while approaching it that way, and he’s done that so far. We expect him to be up here at some point.”
Montgomery’s arrival on the South Side would represent the sort of step forward in Getz’s rebuilding project that catcher Edgar Quero and infielder Chase Meidroth already have provided this season.
And a successful arrival would be an even bigger deal, showing Montgomery could be a true cornerstone, something fans have doubted as his offensive production has slipped the last two seasons.
“What a great opportunity to go down there and have as much time and space as we needed in Arizona,” Sox hitting director Ryan Fuller said Sunday. “We talked about not reinventing who Colson was in two weeks but reaffirming who he is and what he does best.
“Any competitor is not going to be excited about being removed from the game for a little bit, but he also is a really smart kid and understands, ‘I didn’t get off to the start I wanted. There are changes that need to be made.’ So once it was set and he was told, he was 100% committed and sent a text message right away: ‘Let’s get after this. Let’s get it right.’ ’’
First baseman Andrew Vaughn was sent to Charlotte on Friday for his own “reset.” Fans frustrated with Vaughn’s .189 average cheered the surprise move, but the best thing for the Sox’ long-term future could be Vaughn figuring things out, returning to the bigs and producing enough to generate midsummer trade interest.
The team could employ the same trade-deadline plan with Luis Robert Jr., who won’t be going to the minors but is struggling just as much as Vaughn was at the plate with a .190 average.
Talking about the idea of a trade earlier this week, Robert said, “Right now, as my season is going, I don’t think anybody is going to take a chance on me.”
He’s still making an impact, leading the majors with 20 stolen bases and playing great defense in center field, but his lagging bat is making his Silver Slugger season two years ago seem further and further away.
Can the Sox fix him, too? They’re working on it.
“How do we get him on base more often so he can use all the tools he has?” Fuller said. “It comes down to, like Colson, an incredibly special athlete. It’s not going to be wholesale changes to the swing, but how can we be more consistent with his timing?
“He’s so fun to work with, and he’s smart. You show him a couple of things, like, ‘Here’s where you’re late; here’s where you’re on time; this helps the bat path work when you’re on time.’ And it’s, ‘OK, got it, go. Let’s go work on it.’ ’’
Will that work produce the numbers needed to pique teams’ interest by the end of July? That remains to be seen.
Fuller and the Sox’ new hitting infrastructure are on the job, hoping to engineer a couple more inseason fixes that can benefit Getz’s rebuild.