Colson Montgomery

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Colson Kade Montgomery
(Big Smooth)

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Biographical Information[edit]

Colson Montgomery was the 21st player selected in the 2021 amateur draft, taken by the Chicago White Sox. He was a shortstop at Southridge High School in Huntingburg, IN and a resident of Holland, IN, a nearby small town. He signed for a bonus just above $3 million. At 6' 3", he was also a standout basketball player in high school, and his height prompted speculation that he would eventually be moved from shortstop. Had he not been drafted so high, he would have gone to Indiana University where he had an agreement that he would be allowed to play both sports.

He began his pro career by playing 26 games for the ACL White Sox in 2021, hitting .287 with an OBP of .396. In 2022, he played at three different levels, justifying his top prospect status by reaching AA at age 20. He started off with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers of the Carolina League where he hit .324 in 45 games, then moved up to the Winston-Salem Dash of the South Atlantic League, where he hit .258 in 37 games, before finishing off with 14 games with the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League. He struggled at that level, hitting just .146, but otherwise his season was a big success as he hit a combined .274/.381/.429 in 96 games, with 17 doubles, 11 homers, 58 runs and 47 RBIs.

In 2023, an injury limited him to 64 games, including ten on a rehabilitation assignment back in the Arizona Complex League. He did well in Winston-Salem and Birmingham, however, hitting .345 in 17 games with the Dash, and .244 in 37 games in AA. Overall, his slash line was .287/.456/.484 with 51 runs and he was named an organizational All-Star in spite of the time missed. He continued to do well in the Arizona Fall League, where he was named MVP of the Rising Stars Game, the circuit's All-Star Game. In 2024, the White Sox, who were floundering in a season during which they set the American League record for losses in one year, resisted the temptation to bring him up early, allowing a chance to spend a full season in AAA with the Charlotte Knights of the International League. He hit just .214 in 130 games, but showed good power, with 21 doubles and 18 homers. He also scored 66 runs and drove in 63, and in spite of the low batting average, his OBP was decent at .329. He then hit .313 with an OBP of .511 in the Arizona Fall League. He was selected to play in the 2024 Futures Game.

Heading into the 2025, season, he was ranked the #39 prospect in baseball and there was a strong possibility that he would start the season as the Sox's starting shortstop under new manager Will Venable. The two shared a bond through basketball, given Colson's high school prowess on the hardwood, and Venable's four-year run as a cager at Princeton University. He began the season in AAA with Charlotte but struggled at first, hitting just .149 in April. That prompted the Sox to send him back to the team's minor league complex in Arizona for a stretch, to work with director of hitting Ryan Fuller. He hit much better after his return to Charlotte, bringing his average up to .220 by the end of June, including a stretch when he went 10 for 18 with 4 homers in 4 games to finish the month. That once again led to speculation that he would soon get the call to Chicago. That speculation was answered when he was called up to make is debut on July 4th, starting at shortstop and batting 7th against the Colorado Rockies. He made the first play of the game on defense for his team, fielding a ground ball from Tyler Freeman, then in the 2nd reached base on catcher's interference in his first time to the plate - the first batter to do that since at least 1961. With two outs and two on in the bottom of that inning, he made a fabulous over-the-shoulder diving catch in short left field to deprive Ryan Ritter of a hit. The rest of the game was quieter as he made two outs and drew a walk in Chicago's 3-2 win. He ended up playing 71 games for Chicago in his rookie season and batting .239 with 21 homers and 55 RBIs, for an OPS+ of 130. He made the 2025 MLB All-Rookie Team as a shortstop and finished fifth in the voting for the 2025 American League Rookie of the Year Award.

Early in the 2026 season, he homered in four consecutive games from April 18-22. Yet that streak went under the radar as at the same time, his teammate, rookie 1B Munetaka Murakami put together a five-game home run streak that tied the franchise record. Still, they were the first ever teammates to both homer in four consecutive games. A two-homer game on June 17th gave him 40 in just 140 games since the start of his career. This was the fewest game to reach that total in franchise history, and also meant that since his debut less than a year earlier, he had hit more long balls than anyone in the majors, save for Kyle Schwarber.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jesse Borek: "Montgomery swats way to Fall Stars MVP honors", mlb.com, November 6, 2023. [1]
  • Jared Greenspan: "Meet two young hitting stars who might have even better gloves", mlb.com, June 21, 2026. [2]
  • Scott Merkin: "'Whirlwind': Montgomery gearing up for first full Minors season", mlb.com, February 23, 2022. [3]
  • Scott Merkin: "Former hoops star Montgomery shows some swagger at shortstop", mlb.com, March 9, 2022. [4]
  • Scott Merkin: "Top prospect Montgomery on White Sox roster spot: 'I have to go earn it'", mlb.com, February 18, 2025. [5]
  • Scott Merkin: "What does No. 5 prospect Montgomery's hot streak mean for callup timeline?", mlb.com, June 30, 2025. [6]
  • Manny Randhawa: "What an intro! Montgomery makes must-see catch in memorable MLB debut", mlb.com, July 5, 2025. [7]

Related Sites[edit]

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