'He's just a monster': Montgomery leads White Sox in AFL

It was a forgettable season for the White Sox. Their window of contention slammed shut with 101 losses, their most since 1970, leading to the firings of executive vice president Ken Williams and GM Rick Hahn in August.

White the farm system lacks the depth or upper-level talent for a quick fix, there is some good news on that front. Shortstop Colson Montgomery might be the best position player drafted and developed by Chicago since Frank Thomas.

An Indiana high school shortstop who signed for $3,027,000 as the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 Draft, Montgomery was also a basketball star who would have had the opportunity to walk on the basketball team had he attended college at Indiana. He decided to focus on baseball and could surface at Guaranteed Rate Field as early as next year at age 22.

"He's just a monster," a pro scout with another club said. "He has eight raw power, probably seven game power [on the 2-8 scouting scale]. I think the only players better than him who I saw all year were Jackson Holliday and Wyatt Langford."

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Ranked No. 17 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, Montgomery played just 64 games this season after straining an oblique in Spring Training and then tweaking his back. He didn't make his 2023 debut until mid-June and hit .287/.456/.484 with eight homers between Rookie ball, High-A and Double-A. He's currently using the Arizona Fall League to make up for some lost at-bats.

"It's going to be fun, being invited to the Fall League and everything," said Montgomery, who went 4-for-27 in his first six games with the Glendale Desert Dogs. "It's going to be really awesome playing against these guys and everything. But it's the same game, just nothing really changed about it."

Montgomery has been better at the plate than even the White Sox expected, making advanced swing decisions for a hitter so young. He rarely chases pitches out of the zone and lays off difficult offerings while driving balls when he gets the opportunity. He walked as much as he struck out this year -- 56 times each -- and says he just tries to keep things simple at the plate.

"Being competitive, that's really all I try and do," Montgomery said. "I try and just have as good an eye as I can at the plate. I stay on the fastball pretty much is what I try to do. The biggest thing is just being competitive. And once it gets to two strikes, just make it as hard as possible."

As a 6-foot-3, lefty-hitting shortstop with uncommon hitting ability and power for his position, Montgomery has drawn comparisons to Corey Seager since his amateur days. Like Seager did, he comes with questions about whether he'll be too big to play at shortstop, but his quick first step and athleticism help his cause.

White Sox hitters in the Fall League

Bryan Ramos, 3B (No. 7): Part of Chicago's Cuban pipeline, Ramos signed for $300,000 in 2018 and combines advanced hitting ability with plus raw power. He batted .271/.369/.457 with 14 homers in 77 Double-A games.

Jacob Burke, OF (No. 20): A hit-over-power guy with solid speed and the ability to handle all three outfield spots, Burke was an 11th-round pick out of Miami in 2022. He hit .294/.392/.439 with 19 steals in 85 games between Single-A and High-A.

White Sox pitchers in the Fall League

Jake Eder, LHP (No. 5): Tommy John surgery and a fractured left foot sidelined Eder from August 2021 through June 2023, but the White Sox liked his ceiling enough to acquire him from the Marlins for Jake Burger this July. His 93-98 mph fastball and low-80s slider both can be plus pitches, and he posted a 6.35 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings while rising from Single-A to Double-A.

Jordan Leasure, RHP (No. 18): Another July trade acquisition, Leasure arrived from the Dodgers as part of the Lance Lynn/Joe Kelly deal. He improved the shape and velocity (upper 90s) of his fastball this season and also has an upper-80s slider that flashes two-plane depth. He compiled a 3.91 ERA, 11 saves, .206 opponent average and 79 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.

Adisyn Coffey, RHP: A two-way player at Arizona State, San Jacinto (Texas) JC and Wabash Valley (Ill.) CC, Coffey was a money-saver third-rounder in 2020 who had Tommy John surgery after the Draft. Now a full-time reliever with a 93-96 mph fastball and mid-80s slider, he logged a 4.82 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings between High-A and Double-A.

Josimar Cousin, RHP: A 25-year-old Cuban signed for $100,000 in May, Cousin works primarily with a low-90s fastball and a low-80s slider. He recorded a 5.56 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 55 innings while moving from Rookie ball to Double-A in his pro debut.

Fraser Ellard, LHP: Selected in 2021's eighth round out of Liberty, Ellard fashioned a 7.45 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 19 1/3 Double-A innings. He could be an interesting bullpen piece with a 93-96 mph fastball and 83-86 mph slider.