Colson Montgomery's sensational second half exploded with power. He quickly transformed into a game-changing shortstop, becoming the future of the White Sox.
When the Chicago White Sox called up Colson Montgomery on July 4th, no one really knew what to expect.
While Montgomery was ranked as a top-40 prospect on MLB Pipeline to begin the season, he really struggled at Triple-A Charlotte across the first few months. He was batting just .218 with 11 home runs, 30 RBI, and 82 strikeouts across 55 games.
However, those struggles didn’t continue at the Major League club. Montgomery had a three-hit performance in just his second career game with the White Sox, and once he hit his first long ball on July 22nd, the home runs just kept coming.
From July 22nd to the end of the regular season, Montgomery hit 21 home runs, drove in 49 runs, and had a solid .870 OPS over his last 57 games. Those 21 home runs during this span ranked third in all of baseball -- only behind Kyle Schwarber (24) and Cal Raleigh (22).
That means Montgomery had more homers post-All-Star break than Shohei Ohtani, Junior Caminero, Juan Soto, and Aaron Judge. Hitting more homers than any of these players over a long stretch is impressive, especially from a rookie who only made his debut in early July.
Montgomery’s arrival really rejuvenated this White Sox team in the second half, making them a more competitive bunch after the All-Star break.
The first round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft hit .239 with 21 home runs, nine doubles, one triple, and 55 RBI across 71 games in his rookie season. On top of those solid hitting numbers, Montgomery played excellent defense at shortstop as well.
His 6 Fielding Run Value (Statcast) ranked tied for seventh at the position, and his 7 Outs Above Average (Statcast) ranked eighth among all shortstops. For a player who only played 60 games at shortstop in 2025, those are pretty impressive numbers.
Now, it wasn’t all perfect for Montgomery in his rookie season by any means. His strikeout rate (29.2%) and whiff rate (31.5%) both ranked toward the bottom of the league, and his chase rate (30.5%) has to improve before next season.
But those things aren’t a major surprise to see from a rookie. We should expect Montgomery to improve in all three of those categories next year, while also continuing to grow as a hitter at the plate.
After one season, it’s safe to say that the White Sox have found their shortstop of the future.