White Sox Youth Movement On Full Display In Colson Montgomery's Debut

The White Sox youth movement was on full display Friday night in Colorado. Colson Montgomery made his long-awaited MLB debut, Edgar Quero launched his first big league homer, and Grant Taylor locked down his first career save in a 3-2 win over the Rockies.

Montgomery, the White Sox's No. 5 prospect and ranked No. 95 overall by MLB Pipeline, got his first test in the bottom of the first, fielding a 104 mph grounder off the bat of Tyler Freeman and making it look routine. The rest of his debut was anything but. 

“Honestly, after the first ground ball that I got at the beginning of the game -- the game finds you,” Montgomery, who had received the surprise promotion to the big leagues less than 24 hours earlier, told reporters after the game. “Once I got that ground ball, I settled in pretty quick. And then going into my first at-bat, I thought I was seeing the ball pretty well. I had good ABs, I was pretty happy with it.”

In his first at-bat, he hit a weak ground ball to the right side of the infield but was awarded first base due to catcher's interference, making him the first player since 1961 to reach base via a catcher's interference in his first MLB plate appearance, according to Elias. 

He would finish the day 0-2 at the plate with a strikeout and a walk. But it was Montgomery’s glove that stole the spotlight. 

In the second inning, Ryan Ritter lofted a broken-bat blooper into shallow left. Montgomery sprinted back and laid out for a diving, over-the-shoulder grab, robbing Ritter of an RBI single and drawing gasps from the crowd. Still lying face down in the outfield grass, the former first-round pick rolled over and held up his glove—baseball in hand—to confirm the highlight-reel catch.

Colson Montgomery’s catch was #1 on SportsCenter’s top 10 plays tonight.

Not bad for your MLB debut. pic.twitter.com/8sbp1VNzxV

— Mike (@ChiSoxFanMike) July 5, 2025

“Honestly, I kind of slipped, I think. And then I tried just doing a kind of ‘normal’ over-the-shoulder catch but then my body kind of got turned over,” Montgomery told reporters after the game. “And then I left a pretty big divot in the grass.”

Montgomery marked the tenth White Sox player to make his MLB debut this season. 

Montgomery became the 10th White Sox player to make his MLB debut this season. But it was fellow rookie Edgar Quero, who made his debut back on April 17, who broke the 2-2 tie in the sixth inning, launching a 401-foot homer to right off an Antonio Senzatela curveball for the first long ball of his career. 

Quero was greeted with the silent treatment from teammates as he came to the dugout before, Mike Tauchman led the mob of players who went over to celebrate with the White Sox catcher.

That 3-2 lead courtesy of Quero was handed to rookie right-hander Grant Taylor — just days after a blown save against the Dodgers on Wednesday marked the first blemish of his young career. But Taylor told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that the loss was a valuable lesson.

“Opportunity to learn. I would be naive to think I would come up here and never fail. All the greats fail. Kershaw just got his 3,000th [strikeout] and he’s had plenty of outings where he didn’t do too hot. He’s had plenty of outings where he was the best pitcher alive,” Taylor said.

Taylor responded Friday by striking out the first batter he faced, Josh Beck, with a 101 mph fastball. After retiring the second out, he gave up a single to Mickey Moniak — the Rockies’ first hit since the fifth inning — putting the tying run on base. But Taylor quickly shut the door, getting Ryan McMahon to chase a curveball to lock down his third save of the season.