No. 16 prospect Montgomery picks up where he left off in P.R.

This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DENVER -- Rockies' No. 16 prospect Benny Montgomery was soaring until he sustained a season-ending left shoulder injury when he landed in the outfield while attempting a diving play for Double-A Hartford on April 20.

In just 11 games, Montgomery, the team’s top pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, hit .283 with two home runs, four doubles and 10 RBIs for the Yard Goats. But he was hot for much longer. Montgomery had feasted during an Arizona Fall League campaign that ended with All-Star honors. He impressed the Rockies during Major League camp, then he kept it up on the Minor League side.

But Montgomery's 2024 season was snuffed out after such a strong start to the Minor League season.

“I didn’t feel like I was about to take off -- I feel like I already had,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery, 22, is resuming his flight pattern. After a year of rehab, Montgomery quickly found his swing playing instructional ball in Arizona. Next, he will join Leones de Ponce in the Puerto Rican Winter League, where he will be managed by Rockies assistant hitting coach Andy González. League play starts on Nov. 7.

“My biggest emphasis in Puerto Rico is getting back into things,” Montgomery said. “Of course, I want to get better, grow in the game. But I just want to play baseball.

“For me, the summer was perspective. Those long days in the Minor Leagues in August, when you’re really worn out and tired and it takes everything you’ve got to get through the day, perspective has taught me to never feel that way again. I am truly looking forward to playing baseball, because it can be taken away from you so fast.”

He’ll arrive in Ponce motivated.

Montgomery has faced questions about his swing since entering pro ball, partly because his Draft announcement was accompanied by video taken before he had received expert instruction. The injury last year -- when he could have put himself on the Major League radar -- raised questions about his ability to stay healthy. The most games he has played in a regular season is 109, in 2023.

Montgomery has addressed both issues through work.

Healthy going into last year’s Fall League, Montgomery and Rockies coaches stayed away from swing mechanics and focused on timing.

“He’s got quite a dynamic move,” Rockies hitting coordinator Nic Wilson said. “There’s a little bit of a leg lift and a little bit of a hand pump, and early in his career, he had a hard time syncing those two up.

“He has always been a guy who has hit the ball hard. When I first met him it was 115 mph, but on the ground. But he was able to play a little bit farther out front with his barrel, and those hard ground balls turned into doubles and home runs, and he was Eastern League Player of the Week. We had something that we were going to build on.”

The injury-shortened season delayed Montgomery’s chance to squash questions about his swing.

“The media loves to rat on my swing, but it wasn’t a swing issue -- I was just getting ready so late,” Montgomery said. “I finally got on time again, and everything was awesome.”

The 6-foot-5 Montgomery -- who has potential for not only power but game-affecting speed -- was a spindly 205 pounds at the end of the 2023 regular season with High-A Spokane. He’s now 230, and ready to muscle his way into the Rockies’ plans in 2025.

“I have zero doubt in my game -- absolutely zero,” said Montgomery, a natural center fielder who is comfortable in the corners. “I just need to stay on the field. Availability is the best ability. I need to make sure that I’m controlling everything I can to stay on the field.

“When I’m out there, I feel I’m the best on the field every night. I think I’ve proven that over the last six months of me playing baseball, free of injury, but I need to stay on the field to truly prove that.”