4 hurdles White Sox rookie Colson Montgomery must clear to reach superstar status

Colson Montgomery is making quite the impression during his brief time in the majors with the Chicago White Sox.

He has an .848 OPS over his first 20 games. Montgomery's 0.8 fWAR if fourth-best among White Sox position players this season. He has also provided some much-needed power, with four home runs and an .833 slugging percentage over his last six games.

It has been refreshing to see, especially after things were going so badly for him in Triple-A to start the season. It got to the point that Montgomery was pulled from game action. He had a .160 average in April with a .474 OPS before being sent to the team's spring training facility to work on some swing adjustments. I like to call it the "Arizona Reset," and clearly, it worked.

Montgomery posted a .281/.338/.672 with six home runs in June for the Knights. He finally got his much-anticipated call-up against Colorado earlier this month. So far, he looks like he belongs on a big league roster.

The hope is that the former first-round pick is more than just an everyday regular. The White Sox, and White Sox fans, want Colson Montgomery to become a star. He will have to clear four hurdles on his way toward achieving that status.

1. Successfully navigate pitchers making adjustments

It is only a matter of time before pitchers begin to exploit Colson's weaknesses. It happens to every young player, and Montgomery does have plenty of flaws. We saw them during his minor league career. He was prone to striking out and went into some terrible slumps.

The good thing is that, up until this point, he has successfully gotten through the adversity. The key will be for him to avoid a prolonged slump once pitchers start making life difficult for him at the plate in the Major Leagues.

If Montgomery can make counter-adjustments to what MLB pitchers throw at him, his offensive ceiling is astronomically high.

2. Stay healthy

Montgomery has dealt with back issues during the 2025 season. Back spasms during Spring Training also spoiled the plan for him to be the Opening Day shortstop.

These are nothing new for Montgomery. In 2023, Montgomery suffered a back injury early in the season that prevented him from hitting the ground running once the High-A year opened. Even back then, Montgomery bounced back well and performed admirably after missing time with the injury.

It is not good for a 23-year-old to miss that much time with back problems. My hope is that it was just two isolated incidents and not the warning signs of his career being filled with prolonged IL stints.

Montgomery also missed a few games after returning from his "Arizona Reset" because he seemed to be a magnet for getting hit by pitches.

A hitter cannot do damage at the plate if he is constantly out of the lineup with nagging injuries. White Sox fans have already learned that the hard way with Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert Jr., and Eloy Jimenez.

3. Hit 20-30 homers next season

Montgomery would have to go on a huge power surge to reach this mark this season. It's simply not realisitc. But in 2026, when he has a chance to play a full season at the big league level, I'd like to see serious power from Colson Montgomery.

I can live with his strikeouts if he is a power bat that can pound out 20 to 30 bombs in a season.

He already provided a glimpse that he can go on a home run binge when he went deep in three straight games last week.

Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel also have some pop in their bats that I hope is on display next year. But with Colson specifically, one of the best aspects of his profile is the power at the plate for a guy who plays a premium infield position. There's no world where Montgomery is a superstar if he's not smashing 20-23 home runs in a season, like his player comp Corey Seager.

4. Play solid defense at third base

Some scouts believe Montgomery can be a plus-defender at third base. Montgomery has shown some flashes that he can also be a good defensive shortstop.

I think his size actually gives him longer range at short than most players manning that position.

The reason I am advocating for Montgomery to play third is that this year's first-round draft pick, Billy Carlson, is going to force Montgomery off of short someday.

Scouts believed Carlson had the best glove in the entire draft. If he can make some adjustments to his swing, Carlson has the tools to end up being like Houston's Jeremy Pena or even Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr.

This season is lost, so why not give Montgomery reps now? It would have been nice had he gotten some time at third base in Triple-A, because he looks lost there defensively.

Montgomery's defensive gaffe in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Cubs was costly. Montgomery's interference with Ian Happ allowed him to score what turned out to be the deciding run in the eighth inning.

He will need to correct those defensive mistakes and fix the little things if he is going to become a plus-defender.