The Chicago White Sox are hoping one-on-one sessions at their Arizona complex will help get shortstop prospect Colson Montgomery going at the plate.
The Sox are sending the 2021 first-round draft pick to Glendale, Ariz., to work on his swing, general manager Chris Getz said on Tuesday.
“We are optimistic we are going to be able to make strides,” Getz said. “Players oftentimes, they wait until the offseason to make some of these adjustments. We figured, why wait? Let’s attack this, and we look forward to seeing what we can do.”
Montgomery has a .149/.223/.255 slash line with three home runs and six RBIs in 23 games for Triple-A Charlotte. Getz said the move could last a week or two.
“There have been plenty of examples in this game of guys that stepped out of their respective affiliates and go to work on something,” Getz said. “We’ve done it in the past. We are going to do it with Colson. (Assistant general manager) Josh (Barfield) had experience with (Geraldo) Perdomo over in Arizona. I know McKenzie Gore is another one that felt like it was best for him, for these players to get into a different environment and work on their swing or pitch arsenal or mechanics.
“We are going to do that with Colson and we’ll kind of take it from there.”
The Sox selected Montgomery with the No. 22 pick in the 2021 draft. He is the No. 4 prospect in the Sox organization, according to MLB.com, and is rated the No. 36 prospect in all of baseball.
He will be working with director of hitting Ryan Fuller in Arizona.
“Ryan was on the road trip with our major-league club this past stretch of games and he and I had some really good conversations about different ways to develop players,” Getz said. “He’s coming from Baltimore and he referenced how many strides they were able to make at the alternate site years ago with some of the adjustments those players had to make.
“It got me thinking about our experience at the alternate site as well, with not having to rely so much on game feedback, game results. And then developing these players. So we decided to attack it this way and Colson is on board.”
Fuller discussed Montgomery’s progress during a session with reporters Saturday in West Sacramento, Calif.
“Colson, immense talent,” Fuller said. “Making sure everybody’s on the same page with what we’re working on and having a really clear plan of attack and going in there and doing it. Jim (Rickon), Triple-A (hitting) coach is doing a great job down there with him, but making sure his drill work was really targeting the movement patterns that we want to see emerge. Really working on connecting his body and then when he gets to a strong base, being able to keep his direction through the big part of the field.
“So we saw a little spinny at times where he couldn’t keep his direction through both gaps. He’s been working really hard on it. It’s nice to see some returns, but obviously more consistency is needed.”
Getz said a lot of Montgomery’s work in Arizona will be in the cage and on the field, with some opportunities to participate in extended spring training games. The plan is for Montgomery to return to Charlotte.
“I think it’s part of the development process,” Getz said. “He’s 23 years old. In a way, he’s still at the beginning of his career. We didn’t want to wait any longer. We felt like let’s go and attack this now. He’s open to it.”
Getz sees the time in Arizona as an opportunity for Montgomery to not worry about his numbers “and focus on some adjustments, both physical and certainly approach, to be able to improve some things.”
Montgomery has a .245/.366/.402 career slash line with 40 home runs and 160 RBIs in 339 games during parts of five minor-league seasons in the Sox system. He hit .214 with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs with Charlotte last season.
He spent a portion of this spring at big-league camp vying for an opening-day roster spot before being optioned to Charlotte.
“There are different ways to go about development and sometimes the best thing is to change the work environment and be able to focus on some things without the results of the game impacting you,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for him to get on the right track and get back to the player we know he can be.”
Entering Tuesday, Montgomery was 1-for-21 in his last five games with the Knights.
“There are some mechanical things that do need to be adjusted,” Getz said. “And sometimes it’s just best to take a step back and not play in regular games and stare at your numbers.
“So, we just felt like this was the right time to do it and with the feedback we are getting from Colson, we felt like it’s the right time.”
Injury updates
Getz anticipates adding infielders Chase Meidroth and Josh Rojas into the mix in the coming days.
Meidroth went on the injured list on April 21 with right thumb inflammation. Rojas has been out with a right toe fracture suffered in spring training. He began a rehab assignment with Charlotte on Tuesday.
“Chase Meidroth we anticipate returning to the lineup later in the week, with Josh likely returning next week,” Getz said. “We look forward to having those players add something to the club, a nice boost.”
