Braden Montgomery wasted no time reminding everyone why he’s regarded as the top prospect in the White Sox farm system.
On Sunday, the 22-year-old reached base three times in five plate appearances, helping the Desert Dogs to a 10–4 win over the Rafters in Arizona Fall League action. Montgomery singled in the first inning, drew a pair of walks, and added two stolen bases in another well-rounded performance.
Since returning to the lineup, Montgomery has been on a tear, batting .364 with a 1.066 OPS and reaching base in all four games he’s played. His early showing includes seven walks, three hits, three stolen bases, and a pair of RBIs.
Montgomery missed the start of the AFL season after an errant pitch fractured his right foot in September. The injury cut short an impressive first professional campaign in which the 22-year-old hit .270 with an .804 OPS across 121 games between Low-A Kannapolis, High-A Winston-Salem, and Double-A Birmingham.
But Montgomery returned for his first live game action on October 21 and didn’t miss a beat, connecting for an RBI double in his first at-bat and three walks.
While the sample size remains small, his perfect 3-for-3 mark on stolen-base attempts is an encouraging sign for a player who has battled lower-body injuries in each of the past two seasons. Montgomery went just 14-for-21 on the basepaths during the regular season and isn’t typically known as a prolific base stealer.
What Montgomery is best known for, however, is his power. He launched 35 home runs over two seasons at Stanford before adding 27 more for Texas A&M in 2024, a total that likely would have been even higher if not for a broken ankle suffered on a bad slide during the NCAA Super Regionals.
The injury sidelined Montgomery for the entire 2024 minor league season after he was drafted by the Red Sox, making 2025 his first taste of professional baseball. Some of the power he displayed in college carried over, as he hit 12 home runs and posted a .444 slugging percentage. That pop, however, came with a 29% strikeout rate.
His approach at the plate has looked more refined in the AFL, even in a limited sample. Montgomery has reached base in 11 of his 18 plate appearances, striking out just three times during that span.
All four of those hits have come on the left side of the plate for the switch-hitter. The bulk of Montgomery’s at-bats this fall have come from the left side of the plate, despite his solid production from both sides during the regular season.
In 386 plate appearances as a left-handed hitter, he slashed .273/.368/.411 with five home runs and 43 RBIs. From the right side, he was even more impactful, posting a .261/.336/.539 line with seven homers and 25 RBIs in 131 at-bats against lefties. It was an encouraging performance from the switch-hitter, especially given that some scouts had questioned whether he should continue batting right-handed after hitting just .227 with a 29% strikeout rate at Texas A&M.
As Montgomery continues to take positive steps in Arizona, he’s reminding everyone why expectations remain sky-high for his future on the South Side. The blend of power, plate discipline, and athleticism that made him a first-round pick is starting to shine through again, and his early AFL performance offers an encouraging preview of what White Sox fans could expect in right field in the near future.
