Chicago White Sox prospect Colson Montgomery spent 2024 one step away from the big leagues.
While his season at Triple-A Charlotte wasn’t as productive as he would have liked, slashing .214/.329/.381 with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs in 130 games, the shortstop took plenty away from the experience.
“If you never failed, then how can you know what you need to get better on or improve on?” Montgomery said during a recent video conference. “Definitely the season was not a failure or a disappointment at all, just because of all the things I’ve learned about myself and about how I am as a baseball player.”
Montgomery turned it around late in the regular season and had a splendid stint during the Arizona Fall League.
He’s hoping to use that as a springboard for 2025, with the goal of contributing at the major-league level. When will that big-league opportunity come? That’s one of the questions ahead for the Sox in the infield. Here’s a closer look around the horn.
1. Can Andrew Vaughn put it all together in 2025?
Vaughn didn’t hit his first home run of 2024 until May 10. The first baseman caught fire in June, batting .337 with six home runs and 20 RBIs.
He dipped in July (.188 average) but saw progress over his final 48 games with a .274 average, six home runs and 22 RBIs.
Despite the ups and downs, Vaughn wound up leading the Sox in hits (140), doubles (30) and RBIs (70) and was second with 19 home runs.
The Sox are seeking consistency throughout 2025 for the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft.
“We need to find a way to get them to have complete seasons,” general manager Chris Getz said during last month’s MLB GM meetings when asked about expectations for Vaughn and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. “Andrew Vaughn, the second half, the last couple months (of 2024) was much more productive (than the first). We have to put them in a position to go out and be productive for an entire major-league season.”
Lenyn Sosa, who spent time at third base (47 starts) and second (44 starts), also finished 2024 on a positive note. After hitting .174 in 23 August games, Sosa had a .374 average, four home runs and 13 RBIs in 23 September games.
“You look at what he did the last six weeks, certainly in September, and it looks like he may have found something,” Getz said, “and to be able to have an offensive force like that who can play multiple positions is going to be helpful.”
2. What’s the plan at third base?
Sosa made the most starts at third for the Sox in 2024. But he spent most of his time down the stretch at second while Miguel Vargas and Bryan Ramos received extended looks.
Vargas and Ramos figure to be in the mix again after the Sox declined Yoán Moncada’s club option.
Vargas, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team trade that also included the St. Louis Cardinals, was 14-for-135 (.104) with two home runs and seven RBIs in 42 games with the Sox.
“He’s working on adding strength,” Getz said. “When he came over, he leaned out a little bit. I think that affected his ability to compete in the box, and he’s certainly focused on building his body back up to be able to do the damage that he’s done in the past.”
Ramos had a .202/.252/.333 slash line with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 32 games as a rookie.
“He’s shown signs of really being able to hit for power at the major-league level,” Getz said. “He played pretty good defense at third base. Love the energy that he brings. He’s a guy that we feel like can be part of the future as well.”
3. When will Colson Montgomery get his first taste of the major leagues?
Montgomery went a combined 43-for-227 (.189) at Charlotte in June, July and August. He got into a groove in September, hitting .264 (19-for-72) with four home runs and 13 RBIs in 19 games.
“I was going to the box and I was thinking: ‘I’m swinging. First pitch, I’m ready,’” Montgomery said of the late-season success. “‘You throw it here, I’m ready to hit.’”
He carried that mindset to the Arizona Fall League, where he went 10-for-32 (.313) with three home runs, 11 RBIs and a 1.167 OPS in 11 games for Glendale.
“A really, really solid AFL,” Getz said. “Watching his at-bats, there was a lot of looseness in his swing. He was aggressive, he was driving the ball to all fields. He was staying behind the baseball.
“It looked like the Colson that we were accustomed to watching.”
The Sox recently added Montgomery, the No. 3 prospect in the organization according to MLB.com, to their 40-man roster. The 2021 first-round draft pick joins a group of shortstops that includes Jacob Amaya, Brooks Baldwin and Braden Shewmake.
“For him to finish the way he did was great for him to give him that confidence going to the offseason and build toward spring training,” Getz said, “because we want to position him well to be part of the 26-man roster at some point.”
