GLENDALE, Arizona — Braden Montgomery hasn’t played the equivalent of a full major-league season, and he’s less than two years removed from his college days.
But the 6-2, 220-pound Montgomery is answering every challenge the White Sox have presented to him since he was acquired in a blockbuster trade from the Red Sox involving ace left-hander Garrett Crochet last winter.
“We want to continue to challenge him and give him more at-bats,” Sox general manager Chris Getz said. “And we’ll see where the next day, next year takes him.”
That could be the majors at some point in 2026. Montgomery, 22, is more than making up for lost at-bats stemming from a small fracture of his right foot after getting hit by a pitch on Sept. 6.
In his first nine games with the Glendale Desert Dogs, Montgomery — the organization’s top prospect, according to MLB.com — was batting .387 (12-for-31) with a 1.193 OPS.
The Arizona Fall League isn’t regarded as the finishing school it was once touted to be dating to its inception in 1992. But Montgomery’s continued success is extremely encouraging for a franchise that’s in desperate need of power and athleticism.
“Ever since middle school, I’ve had the itch to want to be a major-league player,” Montgomery said. “So I feel like I haven’t really changed much. Obviously, you see the goalposts moving a little closer, but that doesn’t mean too much. I still have to put one foot in front of the other.”
Montgomery is the latest in a series of Sox prospects who have been pushed through the system. He started his pro career at Class-A Kannapolis but was promoted to High-A Winston Salem after only 18 games, in which he batted .304 with an .886 OPS.
He hit eight home runs at Winston-Salem in 69 games and was promoted to Double-A Birmingham despite a modest .260 batting average and .793 OPS.
“I think he was just ready for the next challenge, which leads us to believe that he just wants to take it all on,” Getz said Tuesday night before Montgomery hit two opposite-field doubles. “He’s not scared of anything.”
Montgomery was batting .272 in 34 games with the Barons before hurting his foot and missing the last two weeks.
“It’s super cool,” Montgomery said of the Sox’ recent knack for advancing players without large sample sizes. “Obviously, everyone looks for opportunity in an organization and opportunity to move up. It’s exciting, but, obviously, I want to be where my feet are and focus on getting a little bit better today and then tomorrow.”
Montgomery is aware of the reset that Colson Montgomery, the Sox’ first pick in the 2021 draft, underwent last summer when he was summoned to Arizona last May to refine his swing and approach under the supervision of director of hitting Ryan Fuller after a second consecutive slow start at Triple-A Charlotte.
Nevertheless, Colson Montgomery joined the Sox shortly after his sessions with Fuller despite a .218 batting average at Charlotte and appears destined to receive some American League Rookie of the Year consideration after hitting 21 home runs in 255 at-bats with an .840 OPS.
Perhaps the biggest difference is that Braden has accumulated most of his recent developmental time on big amateur stages at Stanford, Texas A&M and the Cape Cod League.
Braden was the 2022 Pacific-12 Conference freshman of the year and a 2023 second-team All-American after producing a 1.072 OPS. He transferred to Texas A&M and hit 27 home runs and drove in 85 before fracturing his right ankle after an ill-advised send to the plate in an NCAA Super Regional.
“I just thank the Lord,” Montgomery, a Mississippi native, said of his success at Stanford and Texas A&M. “He shared my blessings. I was blessed to be able to go into two situations where we had the right things going, the right staff, the right players, and it just kind of all lined up.”
Montgomery expressed an interest in switch hitting when he was 10, and his 2025 numbers suggested he has more power from the right side (seven home runs, .875 OPS in 115 at-bats) than the left side (five home runs, .779 OPS in 333 at-bats).
But he downplayed that tendency, saying his power splits have fluctuated.
Nevertheless, the Sox could use Montgomery’s power soon. He averaged slightly more than 20 home runs in his three college seasons. The Sox ranked 14th in the AL with 165 home runs; Lenyn Sosa hit a team-leading 22.
“I don’t think [my power] is necessarily natural,” Montgomery said. “It’s intentful, and it’s been in the works since I decided I wanted to be in MLB.”
One area in need of improvement is contact. Montgomery’s contact rate, according to FanGraphs, was 69.8% in 448 at-bats last season. He had a 25.1% strikeout rate, including a 28.7 mark at Birmingham. But his line-drive rate improved from 22.3% at Winston-Salem to 32.5 at Birmingham.
“His quality of contact is solid,” Getz said. “We are looking for just consistency in regard to line drives. We know the power’s in there. It’s just about elevating the baseball a little bit more.
“We don’t want him swinging for the fences, so to speak. But we do think the increase in just the live-drive rate is going to serve him well. But every time we challenge him, he answers the bell.”
Fuller might be able to provide the same cure that helped Colson Montgomery develop into a productive hitter. Colson Montgomery reduced his strikeout rate from 33.9% at Charlotte to 29.2% with the Sox after working with Fuller.
“It becomes easier to get buy-in from players when you have examples like Colson Montgomery and what he was able to do last year,” Getz said. “But he’s such a bright kid, and he’s seeking ways to improve. He’s always listening to coaches, and it’s up to us to articulate what we feel like is going to take him to another level.”
In front of Getz and more than two dozen team officials Tuesday, Montgomery fouled off a 98.1 mph sinker, an 84 mph slider and an 81 mph curve before poking a 97.6 fastball down the left-field line for an RBI double to complete an eight-pitch at-bat against Tucker Musgrove.
Montgomery has enough speed to play center field, but his powerful arm might be better suited for right field.
Montgomery’s fastball was clocked at 98 mph as a freshman, according to several Bay Area scouts. He struck out 28 and limited opponents to a .182 batting average as a freshman. Coincidentally, he struck out three in 2„ innings against Texas A&M as a Stanford sophomore.
But he became primarily an outfielder/hitter after transferring to Texas A&M and hasn’t regretted the switch.
“I enjoyed [pitching] when I did it, but I’m glad to be hitting,” Montgomery said.