Red-hot White Sox top prospect on his mindset

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat e-newsletter. To learn the complete e-newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it repeatedly in your inbox.

Colson Montgomery is glad to be out of Arizona.

His transfer to Excessive-A Winston-Salem round July 4 meant the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 20 overallin keeping with MLB Pipeline, was actually starting his 2023 season after a mid-back pressure slowed his begin. It additionally allowed the proficient shortstop to skip the searing summer season desert temperatures.

“Precisely,” Montgomery instructed me throughout a Friday cellphone interview. “The week I left it was beginning to get like 120 [degrees]one thing ridiculous.”

Arizona’s harsh warmth has nothing on Montgomery’s torrid presence on the plate with the Sprint. By 12 video games, the 21-year-old left-handed hitter has slashed .410/.610/.615 to go along with two dwelling runs, eight RBIs and 12 runs scored. Montgomery has walked 16 occasions in opposition to simply seven strikeouts, and he has 27 walks and 12 strikeouts mixed when factoring in his earlier work for the Arizona Complicated White Sox.

These video game-like numbers, coupled with Montgomery’s robust displaying with Winston-Salem and Single-A Kannapolis final 12 months, ought to push Montgomery again to Double-A Birmingham — the place he completed the ’22 marketing campaign — sooner moderately than later. However since arriving with the White Sox because the No. 22 choose total within the ’21 Draft, Montgomery has performed a very good job of being the place his toes are located.

“I get requested it on a regular basis with my teammates and stuff, however I’m simply not likely worrying about all that,” Montgomery mentioned. “If I attempt to fear about, ‘Oh, I needs to be right here or there,’ it form of places unneeded strain on myself. Wherever I’m at, give no matter I acquired and exit and compete.

“Simply because I used to be damage, it didn’t take away my mindset. I’m nonetheless going into the field considering, ‘No matter you throw, I’m going to have the ability to hit.’ Even the work within the offseason that I went by, I nonetheless carry that over after I began. I really feel actually good.”

Montgomery laughed when requested if these huge numbers impress him, including he by no means seems to be at his statistics in-season. He’s looking the precise pitches, swinging at pitches he can do harm on and never swinging too often at pitchers’ pitches or chasing out of the zone.

“Once I do get my pitch, I’m hitting it and I’m hitting it arduous,” Montgomery mentioned. “I’m actually simply attempting to place the ball in play and hit it arduous. I at all times say that earlier than a recreation: Simply attempting to hit one thing arduous at present. When you hit the ball arduous, you’re giving your self a greater probability of it getting by or it being successful.

“On the identical time, I simply have a aggressive nature on the plate that I don’t need the pitcher to beat me. Every at-bat is a brand new at-bat that no matter I did earlier than, it doesn’t matter. The one at-bat that issues is the one I’m preparing to enter.”

Montgomery’s rehab course of, targeted on a 100% return whatever the time it took, netted about 10 kilos of muscle mass by vitamin, hydration and exercises as soon as he was cleared in Arizona to return to motion. Montgomery doesn’t let the highest prospect standing dictate something baseball- or life-related, however he acknowledges the need as a competitor to show this worth placed on him by others.

That harm, suffered when Montgomery’s again locked up whereas taking his swing, might have hampered his huge league timeline. But when Montgomery performs with the Barons near what he has performed with the Sprint, the ‘24 season with the White Sox, in some unspecified time in the future, stays a chance.

“Everyone seems to be at that stuff to see when they need to be there. I really feel like that’s regular,” Montgomery mentioned. “All I can actually do is present them how I’m doing, present them how I’m enjoying.

“I really feel like I can get there as quickly as doable. On the identical time, particularly getting back from an harm and lacking the quantity I’ve, it’s higher to get my improvement down, get ABs, play some video games, and study extra about myself.”