Of course, Minor league players/prospects need to prove that they can handle major league play (defensively and offensively) before they get promoted to the Big League. That is the general rule and for many good reasons. Baptism by fire, or promoting a prospect before they are deemed "ready", is not a strategy that we see employed very much, even with top prospects. I understand that, but... I think that sometimes the best interests of the team means that a top prospect should be brought up so that the team can evaluate that player and formulate their own plans ( sign a FA, trade, etc) .   Bottom line...is Colson Montgomery going to be our SS in 2025, or does he need more "work' in the minors?

Edited December 20, 20241 yr by tray

With his BA vs 95+ fastballs and back problems in the minors, I think the first question we need to ask is will he succeed, not when.

They really want him to be the opening day SS.  He was dealing with an off the field issue last season and he really impressed them with the way he grinded thru it then peformed in the AFL.  They think he's ready to take off and I would agree.  

2 hours ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

They really want him to be the opening day SS.  He was dealing with an off the field issue last season and he really impressed them with the way he grinded thru it then peformed in the AFL.  They think he's ready to take off and I would agree.  

small sample size  against players not all in AAA

I watched him play and didn't see "superstar" either  or ML ready

Nothing wrong with another season in Charlotte

12 hours ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

They really want him to be the opening day SS.  He was dealing with an off the field issue last season and he really impressed them with the way he grinded thru it then peformed in the AFL.  They think he's ready to take off and I would agree.  

I.also heard someone, maybe a coach or front office guy say on a podcast that he had some cut on a hand that wasn't healing right because he was playing through it . Don't know if it's a baseball injury or kitchen accident.

I think he'll be good too. I don't see much sense in thinking Montgomery won't succeed . He's the Sox SS probably for most of this season and beyond.

I truly believe this young man is least of our worries, i can see him on the opening day roster and having a solid rookie season!

If he can stick at SS, that helps things immensely.  But I can’t comprehend for the life of me how any intelligent being would think burning a year of service time and starting him on the major league roster next season makes any sense when we are years away from being competitive. I would lose all faith in Chris Getz if he did this.

32 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

If he can stick at SS, that helps things immensely.  But I can’t comprehend for the life of me how any intelligent being would think burning a year of service time and starting him on the major league roster next season makes any sense when we are years away from being competitive. I would lose all faith in Chris Getz if he did this.

I see your point. Here are some counterpoints: You promote him because you want PPI draft picks. And not just rookie year. The Royals got one cuz Witt Jr. finished second in the MVP voting. Or maybe you want to get his struggles in adjusting to the majors out of the way ASAP, while you still suck. The Sox are going to be breaking in 3/4 of their line up in the next 2-3 years. Better to not have them all be rookies at the same time? It has never been a harder transition. Finally, maybe they want something, anything, that is interesting to watch about their baseball team. Keeping him down for a while makes sense, but I don’t think it is the only choice here.

14 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

I see your point. Here are some counterpoints: You promote him because you want PPI draft picks. And not just rookie year. The Royals got one cuz Witt Jr. finished second in the MVP voting. Or maybe you want to get his struggles in adjusting to the majors out of the way ASAP, while you still suck. The Sox are going to be breaking in 3/4 of their line up in the next 2-3 years. Better to not have them all be rookies at the same time? It has never been a harder transition. Finally, maybe they want something, anything, that is interesting to watch about their baseball team. Keeping him down for a while makes sense, but I don’t think it is the only choice here.

The issue I have is it only takes a handful of weeks to claw back a full year of control.  And one month in AAA doesn’t change his long-term roadmap and I personally think it would be good for him given his challenges in Charlotte last season.  IMO, unless you feel he’s a serious threat to be a top two finisher in the AL Rookie of the Year race, the value trade-off is just too much.

37 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

I see your point. Here are some counterpoints: You promote him because you want PPI draft picks. And not just rookie year. The Royals got one cuz Witt Jr. finished second in the MVP voting. Or maybe you want to get his struggles in adjusting to the majors out of the way ASAP, while you still suck. The Sox are going to be breaking in 3/4 of their line up in the next 2-3 years. Better to not have them all be rookies at the same time? It has never been a harder transition. Finally, maybe they want something, anything, that is interesting to watch about their baseball team. Keeping him down for a while makes sense, but I don’t think it is the only choice here.

You can do this 3 weeks later.

You've got to compete for RoY with Mayo Jobe Dominguez and Jacob Wilson, A's SS.

White Sox management made a mistake starting Montgomery in Charlotte. He clearly wasn't ready for AAA baseball. Hopefully, they will correct that mistake this season and start him at Birmingham. If fares well at Birmingham, maybe Montgomery can be promoted to Charlotte during the season.

1 hour ago, caulfield12 said:

You've got to compete for RoY with Mayo Jobe Dominguez and Jacob Wilson, A's SS.

Mayo appears to be the consensus favorite. I just don’t see it. O’Hearn is darn good. Mountcastle is a solid righty bat who plays 1b/dh. O’Neill is gonna take the righty at bats in right field, plus Kjerstad has to get time. Maybe there are at bats to be had at 3b, but that means Westburg is either hurt or playing 2b because Holliday has failed to make the team. If the Yankees believed in Dominguez, they wouldn’t be spending $50 mil on Bellinger. Wilson is a good player, but lacks impact. I would bet Jobe of those 4, but I would rather have the field. Look at last year. No one had Gil. Someone like Burke could grab it as a more experienced player who gets a full season. RoY is really hard to predict.

3 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

Mayo appears to be the consensus favorite. I just don’t see it. O’Hearn is darn good. Mountcastle is a solid righty bat who plays 1b/dh. O’Neill is gonna take the righty at bats in right field, plus Kjerstad has to get time. Maybe there are at bats to be had at 3b, but that means Westburg is either hurt or playing 2b because Holliday has failed to make the team. If the Yankees believed in Dominguez, they wouldn’t be spending $50 mil on Bellinger. Wilson is a good player, but lacks impact. I would bet Jobe of those 4, but I would rather have the field. Look at last year. No one had Gil. Someone like Burke could grab it as a more experienced player who gets a full season. RoY is really hard to predict.

Belli and Dominguez are both playing the OF. 

5 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Belli and Dominguez are both playing the OF. 

Dominguez is penciled in to play left, but that is an easy position for the Yanks to play the hot hand. I will believe Dominguez gets 500 at bats for them when I see it.

21 hours ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

They really want him to be the opening day SS.  He was dealing with an off the field issue last season and he really impressed them with the way he grinded thru it then peformed in the AFL.  They think he's ready to take off and I would agree.  

There's the kiss of death. Colson is going to completely bust now. 

On 12/21/2024 at 10:38 AM, Jerry McNertney said:

White Sox management made a mistake starting Montgomery in Charlotte. He clearly wasn't ready for AAA baseball. Hopefully, they will correct that mistake this season and start him at Birmingham. If fares well at Birmingham, maybe Montgomery can be promoted to Charlotte during the season.

I understand patience is called for in "developing" players, but at some point he has to step forward and answer some concerns (primarily from scouts) that are out there. Spring Training will be a great opportunity for Colson to prove himself.  I'm anxious to see him out there at Camelback.

1 hour ago, tray said:

I understand patience is called for in "developing" players, but at some point he has to step forward and answer some concerns (primarily from scouts) that are out there. Spring Training will be a great opportunity for Colson to prove himself.  I'm anxious to see him out there at Camelback.

Then he can easily answer those concerns by showing that he’s better than AAA pitching.

1 hour ago, Balta1701 said:

Then he can easily answer those concerns by showing that he’s better than AAA pitching.

More than that, Colson can show us in ST that he can play major league level shortstop. Some scouts have posited that Colson might end up being a third basemen.  However, Colson has been adamant he and will remain as a shortstop.

On 12/21/2024 at 10:38 AM, Jerry McNertney said:

White Sox management made a mistake starting Montgomery in Charlotte. He clearly wasn't ready for AAA baseball. Hopefully, they will correct that mistake this season and start him at Birmingham. If fares well at Birmingham, maybe Montgomery can be promoted to Charlotte during the season.

I would not get it in your head that this will happen at all.

1 hour ago, tray said:

More than that, Colson can show us in ST that he can play major league level shortstop. Some scouts have posited that Colson might end up being a third basemen.  However, Colson has been adamant he and will remain as a shortstop.

I have zero problems with him playing SS for a couple years until we reach a point where he’s unplayable there. I’m fine with that for now. 

I have much bigger problems rushing him up to the big leagues if he doesn’t demolish AAA pitching. If he can’t hit, he won’t be a big leaguer. If he hits enough, there will be a spot for him. The guy we saw last year was not a big leaguer, so all I ask is that he shows me he’s ready in AAA before he gets called up.

1 hour ago, PaleAleSox said:

I would not get it in your head that this will happen at all.

I wouldn’t send him down either, but I also wouldn’t repeat the mistake by putting him in the big leagues in April.

3 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

I wouldn’t send him down either, but I also wouldn’t repeat the mistake by putting him in the big leagues in April.

After the AFL and his 4-6 weeks...sending him back to BIRM would be pretty demoralizing and totally unnecessary at this point.

Get him on a field as close to MLB specifications and see if he can?hold his own at short or needs to be moved to third or first.

12 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

After the AFL and his 4-6 weeks...sending him back to BIRM would be pretty demoralizing and totally unnecessary at this point.

Get him on a field as close to MLB specifications and see if he can?hold his own at short or needs to be moved to third or first.

No just play him at Charlotte? Hes not being called up for defense.

4 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

No just play him at Charlotte? Hes not being called up for defense.

Yes....leave him there until he hits 900 plus for at least 6-8 weeks.