Colson Montgomery began the final series of his 2024 season with a double to left field in the first inning on Sept. 17 in Syracuse, N.Y.
The Triple-A Charlotte shortstop finished the game with two hits, two walks, a run and an RBI. The highly touted Chicago White Sox prospect collected two more hits the next night — including a home run — and drove in four.
Montgomery hit four home runs in September while slashing .264/.357/.485, a vast improvement at the plate after batting .185 in June, .180 in July and .198 in August. He’ll look to carry over some of that late-season success while returning to the Arizona Fall League for a second straight year.
“The year as a whole didn’t go as well as he would’ve liked,” Sox director of player development Paul Janish said during a recent video conference. “But I do give him credit because going to the Fall League for the second time isn’t maybe the most exciting thing in a lot of cases, and he’s on board with doing whatever he needs to do to put himself in the best position to play at the major-league level as soon as possible.
“With what we have in front of us, the Fall League is an opportunity to do that. Give Colson a lot of credit for being on board with it.”
Montgomery, 22, is one of nine players in the Sox organization listed on the Glendale Desert Dogs roster. The team’s first game is Tuesday.
A first-round selection by the Sox in 2021, Montgomery slashed .214/.329/.381 with 21 doubles, 18 home runs and 63 RBIs in 130 games this season with the Knights.
Janish said Montgomery continued “to go in the right direction” defensively, “despite not swinging the bat as well as he would’ve liked.”
“Looking forward to getting him out here and getting to see him and talk to him and watch him play a little bit,” Janish said.
Montgomery hit .244 with three home runs and 20 RBIs in 20 games for Glendale in last year’s Arizona Fall League.
Janish isn’t worried about Montgomery extending himself after the lengthy Triple-A season.
“I’m proud of him for the work he did off the field with regard to maintaining the body,” Janish said. “That’s something he’s going to have to continue to work on. Hopefully he plays more than 130 (games) next year, right?
“He’s healthy. He feels good. He’s got his mind right with regard to what his offseason program is going to be, in terms of performance training and preparation for next year as well. But in the short term, he’s going to do the Fall League. No concerns on the workload.”
Joining Montgomery on Glendale’s roster are pitchers Eric Adler (Double-A Birmingham), Andrew Dalquist (Birmingham), Anthony Hoopii-Tuioneotoa (Charlotte), Peyton Pallette (Class A Winston-Salem) and Grant Taylor (Class A Kannapolis), catcher Michael Turner (Birmingham), infielder Tim Elko (Charlotte) and outfielder DJ Gladney (Birmingham).
Montgomery (No. 3) and Taylor (No.6) are top-10 prospects in the Sox organization, according to MLB.com.
Gladney, who went to Illiana Christian, had the game-winning single for Birmingham to secure the Southern League championship.
“It felt amazing,” Gladney said of the hit during a video conference. “I can’t believe that situation came up in the game. I’m just glad I was able to give the team a victory.”
Gladney hit a combined .246/.303/.450 for Winston-Salem and the Barons.
“Sent him back to Winston, which was unexpected for him,” Janish said. “Struggled early and, man, just really proud of him. He finished really strong.
“He’s extremely talented. He hits the ball as hard as anyone we have. Does he need to develop on strike-zone discipline? Sure, yeah, but when he touches it, it’s thunder, man. He can play all three outfield positions. I’m excited for him. The Fall League will be good exposure for him.”
Gladney, 23, is looking to make the most of the opportunity.
“I didn’t think I deserved it in the beginning because I had such a rough start,” he said. “It just took me by surprise in the beginning, and I’m just glad I’m going to be able to showcase and take the opportunity that I’ve been given.
“Definitely looking forward to all the different prospects being in one ballpark, one area. Definitely looking forward to the competition on the baseball side. Also looking forward to meeting new people, getting outside of my comfort zone, meeting new players from all across the country. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”
