In a recent article published by MLB.com, Chicago White Sox outfield prospect Braden Montgomery is getting some backing for another minor league promotion.
Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo, and Sam Dykstra collaborated on a piece that highlighted one prospect from every MLB team that is "pushing for a promotion."
For the White Sox, they settled on Montgomery and made the case for him to move from Winston Salem (A+) to Birmingham (AA).
"A big part of the Garrett Crochet trade with the Red Sox at the Winter Meetings, Montgomery was the 12th overall pick last July despite breaking his right ankle on a bad slide late in Texas A&M's season. He has had no trouble adapting to pro ball, hitting a combined .282/.363/.480 with nine homers in 60 games between two Class A levels," reads the article on MLB.com. "A switch-hitter who fits the right-field profile with well above-average raw power and arm strength, he's ready to try Double-A."
Montgomery has succeeded at two levels
Montgomery's time with Kannapolis this season was short lived. The pitching at that level was not a challenge whatsoever for the 22-year-old outfielder.
In 18 games before being promoted, Montgomery hit .308 with an .886 OPS. He has had similar success in High-A with the Winston-Salem Dash.
From May 15-June 6, Montgomery went through a severe slump. It was a 20-game stretch where he was 10-for-75 (.133) at the plate. He then put together an eight-game hitting streak, hitting .412 with two home runs and bouncing back.
Being able to pull yourself out of a slump and make adjustments over the course of the season is a sign of a mature hitter. It's signals to me, and to the folks over at MLB.com, that Montgomery is ready to get experience at a more advanced level of the minor leagues.
White Sox timeline for Montgomery
The White Sox don't have much in the pipeline as far as the outfield is concerned. The organization is thin on position players and what little depth they do have is on the infield.
Montgomery gives the White Sox hope of having a future star in right field. The timeline for his debut on MLB.com is 2027, but I think the Sox may want to get a look at Montgomery at some point in 2026 depending on what they decide to do with Mike Tauchman at the upcoming trade deadline.
If 2026 is on the table for Montgomery, it makes all the sense in the world for him to play the second half of the 2025 season with Double-A Birmingham.
Let him go through the growing pains in Birmingham, make his adjustments, and start him in Birmingham or Charlotte to begin 2026. I don't think there's anything left for Montgomery to prove in Winston-Salem, and the rest of the baseball world is beginning to wake up to that truth.
Montgomery is the No. 35 prospect in baseball right now and the No. 4 prospect in Chicago's system. He will move into the No. 3 spot once Kyle Teel graduates later this month.