How Colson Montgomery, the Chicago White Sox’s top prospect, is taking it all in during major-league camp
The streak started with a first-inning walk on April 24.
For 50 consecutive games last season, Chicago White Sox prospect Colson Montgomery found a way to get on base while playing for Class A Kannapolis and Winston-Salem.
The 21-year-old shortstop took a lot away from the experience.
“I learned that there’s going to be ups and downs,” Montgomery told the Tribune last week. “I was fortunate not to have many downs last year. But I’m just going to try to do the same thing I did last year, that’s try to stay consistent.
“If there is one game that I do go 0-for-4, the next game you can go 3-for-4 and no one is going to remember the (previous) day. I’m just going to try to keep that mindset and have fun and stay positive.”
The lessons are continuing this spring for Montgomery, the top prospect in the organization according to Baseball America. He’s a non-roster invitee to Sox camp.
“When you’re around here, the big leaguers, it puts in perspective what you have to do if you want to be at that next level and everything that comes with it,” Montgomery said. “I’m taking it in stride, learning a lot from these guys. I’m asking questions and also building connections and having fun.
“(I’m learning) time management and workload. You come out here and you’re young, you have all the energy in the world. All these guys, they’ve been in the bigs for a couple of years. They know what you’ve got to do. You don’t want to burn yourself out.”
Montgomery appeared in his first game this spring Wednesday, entering in the fifth. He went 0-for-1 with two walks and an RBI against the Cleveland Guardians at Camelback Ranch, drawing a bases-loaded walk in the eighth.
The Sox selected Montgomery out of Southridge High School in Indiana with the No. 22 pick in the 2021 draft. Manager Pedro Grifol said Montgomery has shown the ability to slow the game down.
“He’s extremely talented,” Grifol said Tuesday. “He’s got good vision, not just at the plate but good field awareness. Never panics. Maybe that stems from playing basketball (in high school) and doing his thing. There’s no panic to his game, everything flows into the play.”
That calmness was on display, Grifol said, while facing Mike Clevinger during live batting practice Tuesday at Camelback Ranch.
“Montgomery was the first hitter and he took the first four pitches and (pitching coach) Ethan (Katz) said, ‘Is he swinging?’ and I said, ‘He’s swinging,’” Grifol said. “He was just taking pitches half an inch, an inch outside. And there was no panic.
“Ethan is like, ‘Is he going to just stand there and track or is he going to swing?’ The next pitch he fouled it off. So, no, he was swinging it. He looks calm. It looks like the game comes to him at the right pace. A lot of guys that age, first year in (major-league) camp, it speeds up quickly, but it doesn’t for him.”
Montgomery slashed .274/.381/.429 with 17 doubles, 11 home runs and 47 RBIs for Kannapolis (45 games), Winston-Salem (37) and Double-A Birmingham (14) last season.
“You’ve got to separate your offense from your defense,” he said of his takeaways from 2022. “You can’t really rely on one thing. If you want to play in the bigs or the next level, you’ve got to do everything at a high level.
“I took pride in my defense, too, last year. And being a shortstop, playing every day, you learn a lot from your coaches of what you’ve got to do to keep yourself ready. Routines and stuff like that. From the offensive side, same thing. Picked the brains of our coaches and would ask them, ‘In certain counts, what would you do?’
“It’s learning. I’m still learning a whole bunch of baseball stuff too. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can.”
The day after his on-base streak ended, Montgomery showed he could turn the page with a walk and a single in his next game. He’s excited for what’s ahead in 2023, starting with the opportunities this spring.
“It’s awesome,” Montgomery said of his camp experience. “I’m very happy and very fortunate with it all. It helps you to stay hungry.”
