Despite a sudden change in scenery a year after being drafted, Braden Montgomery is simply excited to play baseball. The 21-year-old was the 12th overall pick by the Red Sox last season before he was sent to the White Sox in a package deal for Garrett Crochet. He now has the opportunity to be the White Sox long-term solution in right field.
During one of the White Sox Saturday panels at SoxFest live, Montgomery was asked about his favorite moment as a baseball player. His answer spoke volumes about his character. It wasn’t a moment of something he had done, but rather celebrating a walk-off from one of his Texas A&M teammates after a come-from-behind victory. When asked if being traded to the White Sox bothered him he said that he just wanted to get back on the field and play baseball.
That is the type of mentality that has been lacking on the South Side in recent years. National reports painted an ugly picture of the White Sox clubhouse. As former White Sox pitcher Reynaldo Lopez put it:
“No matter if you have the best players in the clubhouse, if you don’t feel like a unit you’re not going far.”
Montgomery’s character is one reason the White Sox targeted him in the trade. White Sox general manager Chris Getz stated that the organization had already done extensive research on Montgomery before the 2024 draft, as the team considered taking him with the fifth pick.
Montgomery did not play a game last season after breaking his ankle in the NCAA Super Regionals. Despite the injury concerns the Red Sox were unphased, pulling the trigger on drafting him in the first round. It’s easy to see why the Red Sox were high on him. Despite not playing a game last year he still landed as the 55th-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list.
Montgomery was considered one of the best two-way prospects in the 2021 Draft out of Mississippi’s Madison Central High School. He has a cannon of an arm, can hit from both sides of the plate, and has 60-grade power. He went undrafted out of high school after committing to Stanford but was able to hit 96 mph with his fastball when the Cardinals implemented him as a pitcher.
His lack of command made him shift his focus to becoming a full-time outfielder where his right arm has been put to good use. Scouts graded his arm strength on a 70 on a 20-80 grading scale. During his freshman year at Stanford, he hit .294 with 18 home runs and 54 RBIs. He followed that up with 17 bombs his sophomore year while slashing .336/.461/.611.
After transferring to Texas A&M he put up the best numbers of his collegiate career, slashing .322/.454/.733 with 27 homers and 85 RBIs. That helped make him the highest-drafted position player in Aggies history after he inking a $5 million contract with the Red Sox.
The main focus of his first season in the White Sox organization will be getting him acclimated to pro-ball. Some scouts believe that Montgomery would be better served hitting exclusively from the left side of the plate. He has a quick, compact swing from each side of the plate that allows him to spray the ball across the diamond. However, he owns a .355 batting average and a 17 percent strikeout rate from the left side, compared to a .227 average and 29 percent K rate from the right side. Montgomery’s biggest issue in college was struggling to hit breaking balls. If he can improve his approach against non-fastballs, he will become a very difficult out.
Given his tools and maturity for his age, Montgomery has the chance to be the White Sox most valuable piece of the Garret Crochet deal.
