After a difficult stretch at the plate, Braden Montgomery is riding a six-game hitting streak as the White Sox fight for the AL Central title.
Having a young team comes with ebbs and flows. As players learn what it takes to get through a 162-game season and compete in a playoff race, there are bound to be growing pains.
The Chicago White Sox have learned that firsthand in 2026.
Four White Sox rookies have had at least 300 at-bats this season, while a handful of second-year players are also in their first full MLB campaign.
At times, that inexperience has led to serious offensive slumps and inconsistent performances. But as the regular season winds down and the White Sox prepare for the playoffs, the offense and the team as a whole seem to be finding their groove.
There’s no better example than outfielder Braden Montgomery.
Montgomery made an immediate impact in his MLB debut on June 9, collecting two hits and three RBIs, including a walk-off home run. It reaffirmed what we knew about him from his minor league career. The former Boston Red Sox first-round pick out of Texas A&M had hit .314 with 10 home runs and a .970 OPS over 56 minor league games this season.
Still, it made sense that Montgomery would need time to adjust to Major League Baseball. As prolific as he’d been in the minors, he played just 61 games at Double-A Birmingham between 2025 and 2026 before moving up to Triple-A Charlotte. After 29 games with the Knights, he was in Chicago.
Montgomery went from Double-A outfielder to everyday starter for a first-place team in a pennant race. As major league pitchers adjusted to him, he began to slump down the stretch.
Braden Montgomery Recovers From Slump
From August 29 through September 18, Montgomery went 5-for-54 over 18 games, batting just .093 with a .376 OPS. That dropped his season batting average to .207 and his OPS to .635, its lowest point since his call-up.
But when pitchers adjust to a hitter, the good ones make adjustments of their own. As the White Sox try to retake first place in the AL Central during the final week of the season, Montgomery is turning it on at the right time. With any luck, his surge will help Chicago secure the division title.
Regardless of where the White Sox finish, it’s an encouraging sign heading into the playoffs.
Entering play Saturday, Montgomery is riding a six-game hitting streak, his longest of the season. During that stretch, he’s gone 11-for-23 for a .478 batting average with three doubles.
The White Sox have scored 44 runs and gone 5-1 during those six games. That’s 7.3 runs per game, and the offense has looked a lot closer to the one we’ve come to know than the slumping group we saw at the beginning of September.
Montgomery has raised his OPS to .666 and his fWAR to 0.8. There have been growing pains along the way, but the young White Sox outfielder now looks to be at his best when it matters most.
