The White Sox called it an Arizona Fall League season for Colson Montgomery at the halfway point, but for the best of reasons.
Montgomery hit .313/.511/.656 over 11 games, conquering the desert a year after the desert conquered him. Considering Montgomery already played 130 games for Charlotte during a disappointing season, he didn't need any additional games to build up a workload, so Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports that Montgomery gets to end his 2024 with his head held high.
“We had a conversation and they said they're really happy and really proud of what I've been doing and the steps that I've taken after having a little bit of a down year,” Montgomery said. “Finishing strong throughout the regular season and then finishing strong here is a big plus.”
Montgomery also drew 10 walks in 11 games, which is only noteworthy because he attributed at least some of his success to a more aggressive mindset:
“I was thinking that I was swinging every time pretty much -- reading the pitch and learning when to stop -- because I feel like sometimes I can get a little too passive. I would like to say I have a pretty good idea of my strike zone. … The more I stay on the hunt, I feel like the better that I am.”
A guy who can walk that often while ready to pounce on any mistake is basically Juan Soto, so the question is whether the White Sox already have a version of this winter's top free agent at home, or whether Montgomery is merely feasting on the combination of substandard pitching and a hitter-friendly environment.
Keith Law wasn't won over by his looks at Montgomery, saying he'll struggle to cover velocity on the inner third, and if it hasn't shown up in his performance, it's more because the level of pitching just isn't able to exploit it.
To Law's point, the entire AFL is hitting .279/.380/.452, and teams are averaging 6.69 runs per game. In this environment, a top-40 prospect like Montgomery, one coming off a full season of Triple-A and repeating the AFL, might be totally unfazed by what he's seeing. He can't exactly overwrite 130 mediocre games with 11 games of fall ball, but considering he spent the entire 2024 regular season running in place, any noise was welcome.
As for the other performances by White Sox prospects...
Tim Elko
| G | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | BB/K | SB/CS | AVG/OBP SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 40 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2/18 | 0/0 | .237/.275/.526 |
Elko inadvertently provides a little bit of support for the validity of Montgomery's numbers, because it's not like anybody with an aggressive mindset is winning the day. He's also at the end of a very long season -- he's played 148 games and counting -- but below-average in-zone contact rates have been with him the whole time.
DJ Gladney
| G | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | BB/K | SB/CS | AVG/OBP SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2/13 | 1/0 | .242/.286/.333 |
Gladney is starting to find his footing, as half of his eight hits have come over the last two games, including his first AFL homer.
Michael Turner
| G | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | BB/K | SB/CS | AVG/OBP SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2/2 | 0/0 | .409/.458/.545 |
With Montgomery out of the way, Turner is now the steadiest active White Sox contributor. As James noted in his post about Edgar Quero, the upper-level catching situation is pretty murky, so Turner is picking a good time to stand out.
Grant Taylor
| G | IP | H | HR | BB | K | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6.2 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 9.45 |
Game log:
- Oct. 8: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
- Oct. 15: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
- Oct. 23: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Law saw Taylor's second start and reported plus stuff and minus command, writing, "His delivery gets him online to the plate and he should be able to repeat it, so the trouble with command was a surprise." My guess is that pitching in the AFL without any experience above Low-A and after a four-month layoff might be biting off a little more than he can chew.
Peyton Pallette
| G | IP | H | HR | BB | K | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5.2 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 12.71 |
Game log:
- Oct. 8: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
- Oct. 12: 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
- Oct. 16: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
- Oct. 23: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
If Pallette was indeed this year's Jordan Leasure, a relief prospect looking to use the fall to gain the inside track for a bullpen spot in the spring, he's not exactly following the playbook. The only selling point -- the two walks -- is offset by three HBPs.
Eric Adler
| G | IP | H | HR | BB | K | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6.75 |
Game log:
- Oct. 8: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
- Oct. 11: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
- Oct. 15: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
- Oct. 18: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
- Oct. 26: 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 HR
Hey, in this particular Arizona Fall League, a 6.75 ERA counts as league average.
Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa
| G | IP | H | HR | BB | K | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5.1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5.06 |
Game log:
- Oct. 8: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
- Oct. 11: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
- Oct. 16: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
- Oct. 22: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
- Oct. 25: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Hoopii-Tuionetoa had a nice AFL season in 2023, but it didn't result in a 40-man roster spot with either the Rangers or White Sox during the 2024 season. He's going back to that well. He dug a hole for himself with one big swing in his first appearance, but hasn't been scored upon since.
Andrew Dalquist
| G | IP | H | HR | BB | K | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 16.20 |
Game log:
- Oct. 8: 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HR
- Oct. 12: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HR
- Oct. 17: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
- Oct. 23: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
- Oct. 26: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Dalquist's ERA was 20.25 before a scoreless inning on Saturday, so he's got that going for him.
