To mark the start of the full minor league season on Friday, Baseball America released an updated top 100 prospects list reflecting any pertinent information that could be gleaned during spring training.
Colson Montgomery took a considerable hit, dropping from No. 39 to No. 72, and it's especially significant when accounting for J.J. Cooper's disclaimer at the top of the article ("We try to be very restrained with our post-spring training update to ensure we don’t overreact to snippets of information."). It's the biggest drop that doesn't involve season-ending surgery, and here's the explanation:
Montgomery came into spring training with an outside shot of winning the White Sox’s wide-open big league shortstop job. Instead, he struck out in five of nine plate appearances and was quickly sent back to minor league camp.
In a return to Triple-A Charlotte, Montgomery homered in the opener. But as of Thursday afternoon, that was his only hit of the season while striking out 15 times in 22 plate appearances. He’s still young for the level, but the confidence that Montgomery is going to get back to his 2022-2023 form is starting to wane.
That write-up glosses over Montgomery's back spasms during the spring, but that only serves to remind that he'd previously dealt with a back issue. And while the numbers are getting a little better -- he's 2-for-11 with two walks and three strikeouts since that snapshot -- these things are clarifications, not counterpoints.
At least Edgar Quero benefited from the reshuffling, taking advantage of two graduations to slip into the 100th spot. He hit his first homer of 2025 on Sunday, and is batting .379/.500/.517 on the young season.
Charlotte 9, Norfolk 8
- Chase Meidroth had a perfect day, going 3-for-3 with a homer, double and two walks.
- Edgar Quero was 2-for-5 with a homer and a strikeout.
- Kyle Teel, 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Tim Elko was 2-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Colson Montgomery, 1-for-4 with a walk and a K.
- Tyler Gilbert: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 14 of 25 pitches for strikes.
Highlights:
*Meidroth's homer was 100.9 mph and 356 feet:
*Quero's homer, 98.3 mph and 342 feet:
Winston-Salem 11, Rome 3
- Sam Antonacci hit his first High-A homer, along with a single, walk, sac fly, strikeout and stolen base.
- Jackson Appel went 2-for-4 with his first High-A homer, a walk and a strikeout.
- Jeral Perez struck out thrice during an 0-for-5 day.
- Samuel Zavala was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Aldrin Batista: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 42 of 77 pitches for strikes.
- Phil Fox picked up the win in his pro debut: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 13 of 17 pitches for strikes.
Kannapolis 7, Hickory 5
- Caleb Bonemer went 1-for-3 with an HBP.
- Braden Montgomery went 1-for-4 with a double and a strolen base.
- Geroge Wolkow was 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Lyle Miller-Green, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Ronny Hernandez went 2-for-4.
- Ryan Burrowes, 1-for-3 with a walk, strikeout.
- Javier Mogollon was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a sac bunt.
Highlights:
*Montgomery's double:
