In his first professional season, Chicago White Sox outfield prospect Braden Montgomery has performed everywhere he's been.
After a broken ankle kept him from playing in the Red Sox organization following the 2024 MLB Draft, Montgomery has made the most of his opportunities in 2025. He started the season in Low-A Kannapolis, and has slowly worked his way up the minor league ladder.
Montgomery is hitting .469 (15-for-32) with nine doubles over his last nine games with Double-A Birmingham. It has White Sox fans more excited than ever for his arrival on the South Side.
Braden Montgomery now has a 9 game hitting streak with this oppo single to lead off the B2. #Barons pic.twitter.com/hffC7pBbTa
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) August 22, 2025
MLB.com ranks Montgomery the No. 33 prospect in all of baseball with a projected ETA of 2027.
It begs the question: How long will White Sox fans have to wait before Braden Montgomery makes his MLB debut and joins this young core?
Braden Montgomery won't be a September call-up
Contrary to what some people in the media might think, I don't expect the White Sox to bring Montgomery to the big leagues when rosters expand to 28 players on September 1.
David Kaplan and former White Sox centerfield Brian Anderson were both in the camp that Montgomery would be a September call-up on a recent episode of "The REKAP". Host Ryan McGuffey vehemently disagreed, and I'm firmly on his side.
Montgomery is still only 22 years old and he has only 393 professional at-bats. I think he's got a lot to work out with his swing still, and would likely be overwhelmed by Major League pitching if dropped in the big leagues next week.
I'm not sure a player has ever appeared in a big league game after beginning the season in Low-A, and there's probably a reason for that.
The White Sox are going to let Montgomery get some valuable ABs in the Arizona Fall League, but that's the only White Sox uniform he'll be putting on this fall.
Can Montgomery make the 2026 Opening Day roster?
In my eyes, the first legitimate chance Montgomery will have to make the big leagues is after Spring Training in 2026. If he produces in the Arizona Fall League, improves over the winter, and impresses when he shows up to camp, I could see the White Sox putting him on the team.
However, I'd still bet against it. Currently, the White Sox have at least three outfielders under club control fro the 2026 season. Andrew Benintendi, Mike Tauchman, and Luis Robert Jr. (club option) will presumably all be back.
Chicago has also given Brooks Baldwin some looks in the outfield this season, and could see a future for him there.
Keep in mind that GM Chris Getz talked about being open to adding talent in free agency over the winter. If the Sox add a bat, I think it's more likely to be a first baseman or outfielder than an infielder.
Between Colson Montgomery, Lenyn Sosa, Miguel Vargas, Chase Meidroth, and others, the White Sox already have a logjam on the infield.
I doubt the White Sox will call up Braden Montgomery until they have a place for him in the starting lineup and I'm not sure I see that for him fresh out of Spring Training.
The most likely time for Montgomery's debut
Instead, I think the White Sox start Montgomery in Triple-A Charlotte to begin the 2026 season. He'll spend his 23rd birthday (April 16) in the minor leagues and, provided he hits, get called up a few months into the season.
June of 2026 is my current target date. Montgomery should be able to get a few hundred more at-bats by then, and the White Sox front office will have ample time to trade one of their veteran outfielders.
That may seem like it's far away, but the first 60 games of the season will fly by. Montgomery will be in Chicago before you know it.