White Sox' Top Prospect Braden Montgomery Moves One Step Closer to MLB Debut
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The Chicago White Sox' top prospect is one step closer to seeing his MLB dream come true.
On Sunday night, the organization officially made the call to move Braden Montgomery up to Triple-A. The No. 31 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, Montgomery has spent his first 27 games of 2026 with the Birmingham Barons. Many fans were surprised to see the former first-round pick start the season in Double-A after a strong stint in Arizona. However, the Sox were seemingly insistent on not rushing the 23-year-old to the majors.
All Montgomery has done is force their hand, though. He has been a minor league star, sitting tied for first in total hits (31) and ranking second in RBIs (22). Montgomery's 21 walks have also helped fuel his 1.035 OPS, which sits behind only Xavier Isaac for the league lead. Overall, he has slashed .313/.429/.606 with the Barons and more than earned his step up the ladder.
"A really good player, really dedicated to his craft and the things he knows he needs to do on a daily basis to go out there and play good baseball. So, really happy for him and proud of him for the work he’s put in," Will Venable told Scott Merkin.
Can Braden Montgomery Continue to Impress?
Will Braden Montgomery need an adjustment period? While he's crushed it up until this point, there is no question that this latest move will be a big step up. Triple-A ball is full of players on the cusp of cracking the league, and Montgomery now needs to prove he is among the best of that bunch.
Fans will surely want to keep an eye on his strikeout rate. If anything is going to hold Montgomery back from that coveted call-up, it will be his swing and misses. His OPS may sit sky high, but he's still registered the fourth-most strikeouts in Southern League play (32). Can you live with a handful of these Ks? Yes, especially when he's smashing 400+ foot bombs on the regular. But this has long been the biggest question about Montgomery's game, and he will now face the toughest pitching he's ever seen.
With that said, the good news is that Montgomery's walk rate has trended in the right direction so far this year. His 16.7 percent clip is the highest of his career. This is likely to take a dip in Charlotte, but the Sox can live with that as long as it doesn't plummet.
So, will Montgomery be Chicago's next Top 30 prospect to make his debut this season? It's certainly possible, but don't forget about infielder Jacob Gonzalez. The 23-year-old started the year with the Knights and has been one of the team's best. Hagen Smith is also expected to join the bigs in the near future and has registered a 2.82 ERA over his seven starts.
With that said, no one in Charlotte will now have more eyes on them than Montgomery. If he can get off to a hot start, the pressure to move him into center field at The Rate will build fast. Speaking of which, his first chance to make a strong impression will be on Tuesday when Charlotte faces off against Jacksonville at 6:05 ET. Mark those calendars!
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Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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