Chicago White Sox Switch-Hitting Prospect Producing From Both Sides

There was some level of uncertainty around Braden Montgomery when the White Sox acquired him and three other prospects in a trade with the Boston Red Sox for ace pitcher Garrett Crochet.

Montgomery's collegiate numbers – a .322/.454/.733/1.187 slash line with 27 home runs and 85 RBIs in 61 games with Texas A&M – were strong enough for him to be selected No. 12 overall in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Red Sox. But after suffering a broken ankle in the Super Regional, he was unable to make his professional debut in 2024.

White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller said Montgomery was "playing catch-up a little" in spring training as a result. But he noticed a strong work ethic from the 22-year-old outfielder, who quickly got back on track.

"Coming in, we didn't have a ton on him. There was no professional data or anything like that," Fuller said. "We were able to see quickly what both sides looked like. But to have them be so consistent this far into the year from both sides and be really productive is exciting."

After hitting .304 with an .886 OPS in his first 18 games as a professional with the Single-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, Montgomery was promoted to the High-A Winston-Salem Dash. Across 111 plate appearances, he has four home runs, 18 RBIs, 14 walks, 21 strikeouts and a .277/.378/.500/.878 slash line.

Along with his promotion, he moved up from No. 49 to No. 38 in the MLB Pipeline rankings, making him the No. 4 prospect in the White Sox organization.

"To be in High-A right now already promoted, to be consistent across the board – he's able, from both sides of the plate, to show consistent contact ability, hit balls really hard at good angles – it's been really impressive to watch," Fuller said. "So I think he's a guy that loves to be challenged, and we're gonna continue to see that."

Some of the uncertainty around Montgomery was whether he'd be able to be a switch-hitter at the professional level, as some players drop one side of the plate after college. At many levels of baseball, switch-hitting has become less common in general.

But that hasn't been an issue for Montgomery. Across 155 plate appearances a left-handed hitter, he's slashing .281/.394/.453/.847 with three home runs and 21 RBIs. The sample size is smaller as a right-handed hitter, just 40 plate appearances, but he's still producing at a high clip with a .314/.350/.657/1.007 slash line, three home runs and 13 RBIs.

One difference in Montgomery from one side of the plate to the other is his strikeout-to-walk ratio. From the left side, he has 24 walks and 30 strikeouts, equating to a 15.5% walk rate and a 19.4% strikeout rate. As a right-handed hitter, he has zero walks and 10 strikeouts, or a 25% strikeout rate.

That leaves some room for improvement like any player, but the White Sox have been intrigued by his switch-hitting ability overall.

"It has been legit. It's been really exciting," Fuller said of his right-handed swing. "Both sides, coming into spring training, his bat path was cutting across the zone a little bit. But once he started to get the feel of, 'OK, I can work through center field on both sides,' you see him be able to go oppo gap, pull-side gap. So it's been really exciting."

Related MiLB

BONEMER SUCCEEDING: Single-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers shortstop Caleb Bonemer went 3-for-4 with a home run in Tuesday's 3-0 victory. CLICK HERE

TEEL STAYS IN TRIPLE-A: The White Sox traded catcher Matt Thaiss off the big league roster on Tuesday, but prospect Kyle Teel will stay in Triple-A as Korey Lee has been activated off the injured list. CLICK HERE

MONTGOMERY BACK ON TRACK: Former first-round pick Colson Montgomery was in a major slump to begin the 2025 season in Triple-A, but he has begun to turn things around after individualized work in Arizona with White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller. CLICK HERE