Braden Montgomery's Growth Shines in White Sox Playoff Heroics

It's someone new every day. That's the story of the season for the 2026 Chicago White Sox. And that once again proved to be the case in Game 2 of the ALDS on Monday evening.

We've seen Chicago's table setters set the tone early. We've seen the big bats come through with meaningful home runs. We've even seen the bullpen answer challenge after challenge and slam the door with the innovative "pitching chaos" strategy being deployed.

On Monday in Cleveland, it was another White Sox rookie meeting the moment, even when the numbers weren't in his favor.

White Sox outfielder Braden Montgomery has all the makings of a future star. He can hit. He has power to all fields. He plays good defense and has a cannon of an arm. And he's a switch hitter at the plate.

It's those tools that made Montgomery a first-round pick by the Boston Red Sox in the 2024 MLB Draft, an intriguing headlining piece of the Garrett Crochet trade when the White Sox acquired him, and one of the top prospects in the sport. Montgomery moved quickly through the minor leagues, making his MLB debut in 2026 after beginning the season with Double-A Birmingham.

As with any young player, though, Montgomery still has areas of his game that need development. More specifically, hitting from the right side has proven to be a struggle for the young switch hitter since arriving in Chicago.

In 93 at-bats against left-handed pitching as a right-handed hitter, Montgomery hit just .129 with a .430 OPS during the 2026 regular season. It's a stark contrast from the .755 OPS he posted when hitting from the left side, which might be a bit surprising considering Montgomery is a natural right-hander who taught himself to hit left-handed when he was young.

Still, it hasn't been enough for the White Sox to platoon Montgomery. Will Venable believes the rookie's defense, baserunning and overall value are worth having in the lineup every day. Not to mention, the easiest way for Montgomery to improve his right-handed swing is by getting experience hitting right-handed in the big leagues.

Even so, Montgomery stepped to the plate in the top of the sixth inning on Monday to face Guardians relief pitcher Eric Sabrowski, a left-hander who had entered in relief of starting pitcher Gavin Williams.

Montgomery's first two at-bats were uncomfortable. Braden would be the first to tell you that. Williams struck him out both times and produced some ugly swings in the process. But all it takes is one quality swing to turn a game upside down.

Sabrowski threw Montgomery a first-pitch fastball that caught too much of the plate. And with one swing, the White Sox rookie rendered all of his previous numbers as a right-handed hitter irrelevant.

Montgomery ripped a 101.4 mph line drive down the right-field line, landing it just fair and plating two runs. That swing gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead and silenced a stunned crowd at Progressive Field.

Another day, another unlikely hero, and another young player meeting the moment.

"He's very committed to his process. He works very hard on both sides of the plate to give himself a chance. Throughout the season, specifically on the right side, it's been a little bit more of a struggle for him, but he's continued to grind," White Sox manager Will Venable said of Montgomery's progress as a right-handed hitter.

"That was a huge swing right there. We've seen him do that, use the opposite field from both sides of the plate."

And for Montgomery, it all comes back to his ability to put things in the past.

Baseball requires a short memory. You need to be able to hit the reset button on a game, an inning or an at-bat. The White Sox as a team don't even believe in momentum. They discussed that after their Game 2 win in Cleveland, emphasizing the importance of resetting before heading back to Chicago.

Montgomery has embraced that same mentality individually. His regular-season struggles from the right side of the plate don't have to define what comes next. The playoffs are a new season with new opportunities.

"I felt ready to compete. That's the goal at the end of the day," Montgomery said of the at-bat. "Numbers are what they are. It's the past, and so you use those experiences to sculpt what you believe to be the best way forward, and then you do your best to grow."

It's an incredibly mature outlook on the game. That alone is another tool in Montgomery's belt moving forward.

The growth won't be linear. A season-changing at-bat in Cleveland doesn't suddenly make Montgomery a feared hitter from the right side moving forward. But it's his tenacity and relentless drive for development that make him so dangerous.

That's why he stays in the White Sox lineup every day. That's why he's the right fielder of the future. And for the time being, he's a major reason why the White Sox are heading back to Chicago with a 2-0 ALDS lead over the division-rival Cleveland Guardians.