The surprising Chicago White Sox will be adding another dynamic young talent to their lineup, as the team has promoted top prospect Braden Montgomery. Montgomery, who was named Chicago’s top prospect going into this season by The Athletic, ranked as the No. 30 prospect in baseball in The Athletic’s most recent top 50 prospect ranking.Montgomery’s promotion was part of a flurry of moves the team made on Tuesday morning. In addition to Montgomery, the White Sox promoted left-hander Joe Rock from Triple A. Rookie outfielder Rikuu Nishida and right-hander David Sandlin were optioned to Triple A, and outfielder Austin Hays was moved to the 60-day injured list to make room for Montgomery on the 40-man roster.Selected with the No. 12 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox, Montgomery, 23, was traded to Chicago before making his professional debut as part of the prospect package Boston used to acquire Garrett Crochet. A switch-hitting outfielder who began his collegiate career at Stanford before transferring to Texas A&M, Montgomery broke his right ankle during the NCAA Super Regional in 2024, which delayed his pro debut.
He climbed three levels in 2025, starting in Low A and finishing in Double A, hitting a combined .270/.360/.444 with 12 home runs, though his regular season did end early due to a broken bone in his foot. Once healthy, Montgomery played 12 games in the Arizona Fall League, hitting a blistering .366/.527/.634 with more walks than strikeouts.Montgomery began this season in Double A but earned a promotion to Triple A after hitting .313/.429/.606 in 27 games. Since his promotion, he’d hit .315/.417/.495 for the Charlotte Knights.Montgomery is a switch hitter with 70 power (on the 20-80 scouting scale). He is much more productive batting from the left side, even though he’s had more whiffs batting left-handed since his promotion to Triple A. He understands the strike zone and doesn’t chase much from either side of the plate, but swings hard all the time, especially left-handed, trading off some swing and miss for more damage on contact.It’s a fastball-heavy approach, and since he reached Triple A, pitchers have exploited this, damaging him with changeups and more broadly attacking him in the lower third and below with off-speed pitches. He has easily 30-homer power and has the potential to be a plus defender in right field. He’s mostly played center field this year, but he doesn’t have the speed or instincts to really play there in the majors, certainly not ahead of Tristan Peters. The White Sox should install Montgomery in right and let him adjust, as big-league pitchers will probably attack him with a ton of off-speed pitches until he shows he can hit them or lay off.The White Sox are 34-31 and 1.5 games out of first place in the American League Central behind the Cleveland Guardians. Their resurgence has been fueled by an influx of young contributors, including 26-year-old Miguel Vargas and 24-year-old shortstop Colson Montgomery. They’ve been able to withstand the loss of top slugger Munetaka Murakami, currently on the injured list with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, thanks also to the contributions of veteran Randal Grichuk and rookie Jacob Gonzalez, who joined the roster when Murakami was placed on the IL. Chicago ranks second only to the New York Yankees in the AL in home runs and team OPS.
