White Sox Minor Keys: July 5, 2024

7:00 AM CDT on July 6, 2024

On a Zoom call with media for his placement in next week’s Futures Game, White Sox prospect Colson Montgomery seemed most excited about being a hype man for his Charlotte Knights teammates. Brooks Baldwin and Edgar Quero certainly earned it with their debuts.

“The core we've got going on in Triple-A and Double-A is something to be excited for, with Sox fans and everybody,” Montgomery said. “Q’s been a top-100 guy a long time. But they're really making a name for themselves this year. I would like to say that Brooks Baldwin, people don't look at him enough. I would say he's one of the best players in our organization, just how he goes about his business and being professional with the things he does. He plays the game the right way. I've only played with him one game, and I could kind of get the gist of that stuff.”

Noah Schultz has yet to completely unseat Montgomery on public lists as the top prospect in the organization, but it’s certainly a time for the White Sox to tout the depth of their system more than claim a sure thing 22-year-old future superstar at short.

Montgomery entered the weekend with an 85 wRC+ at Triple-A and a strikeout rate still worrisomely close to 30 percent. It’s safe to conclude that his prospect status and past success aided him more in this honor than his 2024 performance would have on its own. The call Montgomery received from player development director Paul Janish informing him he had been selected to the Futures Game contained the assurance of “we know everything's going to work out.”

That message is necessary after Montgomery followed up a May that suggested he was starting to figure out the Triple-A pitching by hitting .185/.323/.346 in June. His bat has brought him to this advanced level while sticking at the most difficult infield position remains his most audacious and labor-intensive project. But the best case Montgomery could make for himself is that he simply needs more reps, and that his offseason training has kept him healthy enough to accumulate them.

“A lot of people when they're not playing good, they might not want to play. But what do you think you've got to do to get out of it? You've got to keep playing, you've got to keep playing this game,” Montgomery said. “"The biggest thing is having consistent at-bats and playing consistently every single day. Last year, I didn't really get to do that much, didn't play as many games. I've already played way more than I did last year at this time. I'm happy to be healthy. I've been consistently working every day.”

Montgomery whacked his 11th homer of the season on Independence Day, matching his professional single-season high, and says he’s gained a feel for how he will be pitched over three months in the 20-team international league. He still sounds as intent as ever to stick to anyone who ever said that he can’t stay at shortstop, even if he’s only grown taller and buffer since those assessments first came down.

The numbers just don’t match up yet, but he feels that “yet” is the operative word.

"Being a pro, in general, you're going to think of yourself as the highest level and think of yourself as the best,” Montgomery. “If you aren't doing that, you're going to be selling yourself short. The 'not if but when' thing, in my head I kind of think that, but also, just one day closer. You never know when you're going to get that call. I could get that call tomorrow. And you can be like, '(I had) a slow start, but they might have something going on.' So you never know when it's going to happen. All I can do is try to be the best player, best person that I can be for this organization."

Jacksonville 5, Charlotte 3

Dominic Fletcher moved his rehab to Charlotte, where he went 1-for-3 with a homer and a walk.
Oscar Colás, also 1-for-3 with a walk.
Edgar Quero and Bryan Ramos both were 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
Colson Montgomery, 1-for-4 with a K.
Zach DeLoach went 1-for-3 with a strikeout and a sac fly.
Brooks Baldwin went 2-for-4.
Sean Burke: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 45 of 81 pitches for strikes.

Birmingham 4, Rocket City 1

Jacob Gonzalez and Tim Elko wore matching collars and silver sombreros.
Wilfred Veras doubled, singled and struck out twice.
Terrell Tatum went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
Riley Gowens' Double-A debut: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 48 of 67 pitches for strikes.

Winston-Salem 7, Hickory 2 (Game 1, 7 innings)

Eddie Park went 1-for-3 with a walk.
DJ Gladney was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Ryan Galanie, 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Wes Kath went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
Calvin Harris singled twice and got plunked.
Samuel Zavala is finally hitting .200 after doubling, walking and striking out.
Peyton Pallette pitched in relief: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 23 of 33 pitches for strikes.

Notes:

*Tommy Vail, a 25-year-old undrafted free agent out of Auburn, made his High-A debut and struck out 10 over five innings of one-run ball (unearned). He's up to 66 strikeouts against 16 hits over 38 innings between the two A-ball levels.

Winston-Salem 4, Hickory 3 (Game 2, 7 innings)

Loidel Chapelli struck out all three trips.
Eddie Park went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
DJ Gladney struck out and was ejected.
Samuel Zavala replaced him, doubling and walking in two trips. He's now hitting .203.
Wes Kath went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
Juan Carela: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 54 of 86 pitches for strikes.

Kannapolis 10, Fayetteville 2

Rikuu Nishida came a homer shy of the cycle during a 5-for-6 night. He tripled, doubled and stole a base.
George Wolkow went 1-for-3 with a homer, two walks and a strikeout.
Ryan Burrowes was 1-for-2 with a double and a strikeout, but he was replaced after doubling and scoring.
Lucas Gordon: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
Manuel Veloz with another four-inning save for the org: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Highlights:

*The daily Wolkow:

https://twitter.com/FutureSox/status/1809393763292193106