With chip on his shoulder, White Sox' top SS prospect Colson Montgomery keeps confidence at high level

MIAMI — Say this for shortstop prospect Colson Montgomery. His confidence remains high.

And why shouldn’t it? Well, there’s the .210 batting average he’s carrying at Charlotte, his first go at Triple-A. And the doubters still wonder if he will stick at shortstop because of his 6-4, 225-pound frame.

But Montgomery, 22, is representing the Sox along with left-hander Noah Schultz at the Futures Game on All-Star weekend, and he’s playing every day, which is a big deal for the 2021 first-round White Sox pick (22nd overall) who had dealt with oblique and back injuries which limited him to 96 and 64 games in 2022 and ‘23. He spoke on a Zoom call Friday, oozing the same affable, upbeat personality that won over teammates, coaches and front-office types during spring training.

"The biggest thing is having consistent at-bats and playing consistently every single day,” Montgomery said. “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.”

MLB Pipeline's No. 16-ranked prospect, Montgomery brings a .210/.329/.380 slash line with 11 homers and a .710 OPS in 74 games. His minor league average over four seasons is .260/.387/.421 with 30 homers and an .808 OPS.

"We kind of figured out how people are going to pitch to you,'' he said. "When you play a lot and you play a lot of consecutive games and get consecutive ABs, you can kind of get a feel for how pitchers are going to pitch to you and how you can attack that plan and attack that process. Also, the biggest thing is sticking with the process and not chasing results. I've been feeling pretty good lately, so I'm going to keep on going."

Sox manager Pedro Grifol, who had his eyes on Montgomery in camp, said the book on him in the majors "is going to get a little thicker."

"[But] he’s got tremendous talent, hit-ability, high-contact rate," Grifol said. "This is all part of the process. All part of him maturing into a major leaguer. He’s a young kid at a high level. I think he’s going to be fine. He’s playing really good shortstop, the reports I’m getting is he’s doing really good defensively. The offensive stuff is going to come."

While Montgomery seemed destined at the outset of the season to be wearing a Sox uniform at some point this season. Now it’s more wait and see.

“There's a lot of ups and downs in this game, a lot of peaks and valleys, which I always talk about,’' Montomery said. “But I've got a good group around me here to help me stay consistent and stay on the right track of being the best player that I can be.

“You never know when it’s going to happen."

Montgomery knows the shortstop question will always happen, and he has a ready answer.

"Of course, I'm going to think that I belong there,” he said. “Just playing at a high level professionally, you've got to think that you're the best at that position, and that's what I think that I am. And I feel I've proven that over my three years of playing professional baseball. Like you said, though, I'm playing with a chip on my shoulder because a lot of people think I'm too big to be a shortstop.

"This is a common question and a common conversation all the time of if I should be a shortstop. But the only thing I can do is keep proving everybody wrong that thinks I shouldn't be a shortstop and keep proving the White Sox right saying that they want to keep me at shortstop."

As for when the call is coming, “my best answer is every day I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to being the best player I can be and being a really good big league shortstop."