A question around Colson Montgomery as he progressed through the White Sox’ system was whether he could stay at shortstop. Nobody was wondering about the former high school basketball star’s athleticism, but a look at Montgomery’s lanky 6-3 frame indicated that a move to a corner infield spot or the outfield was possible.
Montgomery has played 102 big-league games at short, and he makes it clear that he wants to stay at the position.
“It’s how you play,” Montgomery said. “If you prove and show you can make the outs, you can keep your range, and things like that, why can’t you stay there? That kind of keeps my mindset focused on I’m a shortstop and that’s where I want to play.”
A year into his Sox career, Montgomery has shown he can play short at a major-league level. After compiling six outs above average at shortstop in only 60 games last year, Montgomery is off to a strong start in 2026. He’s already matched the six outs above average and sits third in baseball, behind only the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. (13) and the Brewers’ Joey Ortiz (7).
Numbers aside, Montgomery’s quick-twitch skills and feel for the position have stood out. Sox manager Will Venable has been impressed with Montgomery’s consistency, whether it’s making the average play, showing range to either side or charging in on a slow grounder and making a bare-handed grab.
“A lot of it for some of these guys is just making the routine play and he has just been incredibly consistent in making the plays he should,” Venable said. “And then he’s able to tap into the athleticism and make some special plays as well.”
The inquiry comes up because, historically, shortstops haven’t stood as tall as Montgomery. The reasons are somewhat obvious: shorter players are believed to have a lower center of gravity, allowing for increased quickness, a better range of motion and closeness to the ground to pick up ground balls.
On Opening Day this year, the average height of the 29 starting shortstops other than Montgomery was 72.2 inches, or just a tick above 6 feet. Though it’s an imperfect metric, Gold Glove shortstops since 2021 have averaged 72.1 inches. Only 2021 American League winner Carlos Correa (6-3) is listed as tall as Montgomery.
But that doesn’t mean a good shortstop has to be 6 feet. The position has trended taller, and athleticism and solid positioning are more important than proximity to the ground.
Before he was hired by the Sox, Venable spent two seasons with the Rangers as associate manager on Bruce Bochy’s staff. Venable picked up a World Series ring when Texas won the 2023 World Series, and that Rangers team was fueled by 6-4 shortstop Corey Seager.
Last year, Seager put up a career-high 16 defensive runs saved above average, and has finished in the top 5 of his league five times in range factor per game among shortstops. Seager has also played shortstop for two championship teams: those Rangers and the 2020 Dodgers.
“To me, if you can play your position, you can play your position,” Venable said. “Being around Corey Seager, he does a fine job of it. I get it, but if guys can make plays, they can make plays.”
Montgomery is focusing on doing that for the Sox. Though his power is eye-catching, he said he takes the most pride in his defense because of the earlier questions about his size.
“I come in every single day, do whatever I can to get my body and my mind ready to play the best nine innings of defense that I can,” Montgomery said.