Once Colson Montgomery showed that he could hit the ground hitting after oblique and back injuries delayed his start until mid-June, his prospect stock continued its steady rise. He set personal bests in each of the midseason prospect rankings updates. Keith Law ranked him 21st, MLB Pipeline ranked him 17th, and Baseball America ranked him 14th.
But ESPN's Kiley McDaniel went there in his midseason 2023 top prospect list, putting Montgomery at No. 2. The blurb:
This is an aggressive ranking, but nobody I spoke with has Montgomery outside of their top 10; most have him in their top five. Montgomery has a shot to be a plus hitter with plus power and play shortstop in the big leagues, so the idea is similar to Holliday, but you'd see differences if you watched them. Montgomery is bigger and stronger at 6-foot-3, is one notch slower on the bases and will probably settle at third base eventually, but he's in the Corey Seager range of size/speed/strength/feel: He could thread the needle and be the best of both worlds.
The only catch: Montgomery hasn't played since last Thursday, and was 1-for-16 with six walks and three HBPs in his last five games. It'll be easier to celebrate this ground-breaking ranking once he re-establishes that he's in the clear.
Nashville 7, Charlotte 5
- Lenyn Sosa was 1-for-4.
- Adam Hackenberg caught and went 1-for-3 with a sac fly and a strikeout.
- Luis Patiño: 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Notes:
*In solidarity with Gregory Santos, Edgar Navarro also gave up a three-run walk-off homer.
Birmingham 10, Chattanooga 1
- José Rodríguez went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Terrell Tatum, 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Bryan Ramos singled twice, walked and struck out twice.
- Wilfred Veras went 2-for-5 with a double, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- Edgar Quero was 2-for-4 with a walk
- Luis Mieses went 3-for-4 with his eighth homer.
- Alsander Womack, 0-for-2 with a walk, HBP and strikeout.
- Nick Nastrini: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Highlights:
*Nastrini turned in the best start yet of any pitcher acquired by the White Sox at the deadline, getting some goofy swings and misses.
*Nastrini said his changeup is the pitch that unlocks his entire arsenal.
Winston-Salem 6, Greenville 0
- Jacob Burke went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.
- Brooks Baldwin, 1-for-3 with a walk, strikeout and two stolen bases.
- DJ Gladney hit his 16th homer during a 1-for-4 night,. striking out twice.
- Loidel Chapelli was 0-for-3 with a sac fly and two strikeouts.
Carolina 2, Kannapolis 0
- Jacob Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Calvin Harris, 0-for-4 with a K.
- Jordan Sprinkle struck out thrice and got plunked once.
- Eddie Park went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
- Aldrin Batista: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 43 of 61 pitches for strikes.
