Colson Montgomery keeps stacking firsts, and now, Montgomery is rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest bats in White Sox history. With his spree of long balls since the All-Star break, the 23-year-old shortstop has become just the fourth Sox player to homer 18 or more times over a 37-game span, joining Jim Thome, Frank Thomas and Albert Belle.
For a rookie who didn’t debut until July 4, that’s rarified company—and a flashing neon sign that Chicago has a franchise pillar on its hands. The résumé grows by the night. In Thursday’s 11-8 win, Montgomery blasted a Statcast-projected 454-foot shot to right, his second homer of at least 450 feet this season—no other rookie has done that in 2025.
He’s punishing spin, too: entering Friday, his .686 slugging percentage against breaking balls ranked second in MLB (minimum 50 plate appearances ending on breakers). Since the break, his 18 homers lead the American League, a surge built on advanced strike-zone control and the kind of barrel consistency that rarely shows up this fast.
Colson Montgomery appears to be a star in the making for the White Sox
Opponents have noticed. Twins All-Star Byron Buxton, whose plaudits hadn’t yet reached Montgomery until a reporter mentioned them, summed up what the league is seeing: “Just a baller. He goes up there and he takes great at-bats, quality at-bats. Honestly, it looks like he’s been in the league for a couple of years… just seems like a big leaguer.”
Hearing that, Montgomery grinned: “It’s pretty sick. Somebody like him, who has been around the league… it’s pretty cool to hear that from him.” Their mutual respect even turned into a keepsake swap—Montgomery signed a card; Buxton sent over a bat.
That veteran validation has followed Montgomery around the diamond. He’s had on-field small talk with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos—brief exchanges, but the message is consistent: keep going. “Those guys… it’s pretty cool when you hear them say, ‘Keep swinging it,’” Montgomery said. “Game recognizes game.”
Of course, even white-hot rookies run into buzzsaws. On Saturday in Detroit, Tarik Skubal muted Chicago’s lineup in a 6-0 Tigers win that snapped the Sox’s six-game streak. Montgomery and the offense were quiet until a Bryan Ramos double broke up a no-hit bid in the fifth, and starter Martín Pérez couldn’t dodge damage in a five-run fourth.
Still, there were silver linings: an overworked bullpen stacked zeroes after Pérez departed, with Wikelman González, Steven Wilson and Dan Altavilla combining for four scoreless, seven strikeouts and a handful of slick plays behind them. “They’re really tired… but they did an outstanding job,” manager Will Venable said.
The bigger picture, though, is Montgomery’s rocket climb from tantalizing prospect to lineup engine. He carries himself like he belongs, he’s learning from stars on both sides, and he’s producing at a pace that evokes Thome, Thomas and Belle. That’s not a hot streak; that’s a trajectory.
