MESA, Ariz. — The Glendale Desert Dogs had just lost in walk-off fashion. Braden Montgomery heard the calls of fans seeking autographs, pictures and a moment to rub shoulders with the White Sox No. 1 prospect. His uncle and grandmother, the latter of whom drove from Southern California to watch Montgomery play, awaited in the stands as well.
But first, he took the time to clean up the dugout.
“That’s just who he is,” said Braves infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr. of his teammate during the Fall League. “He’s one of the best dudes I’ve ever met. I mean, the baseball player, he’s great. But at the end of the day, if you’re not a good dude, it speaks volumes. You can tell his parents raised him the right way, and he just makes sure to do what he has to do every single day.”
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Montgomery also did his job during game action for Glendale, slugging his first homer of the fall campaign during the club’s 10-9 loss to Mesa at Sloan Park on Saturday afternoon. He added a two-run triple in the ninth to an earlier single, giving him a three-hit, four-RBI performance in total. Through seven AFL games, he’s slashing .435/.606/.696 and has more walks (nine) than strikeouts (seven).
A unique part of the Fall League is that with so many pitchers trying to get innings under their belt, it’s not often batters face the same hurler multiple times in a game. Couple in the varying levels of experience that said pitchers have, and even though it’s known as a hitter-friendly circuit, batters can sometimes be up against it, ditching data for good old-fashioned see ball, hit ball.
“I treat it as good practice,” said Montgomery of the challenge, “because every once in a while, you’ll have a time during the regular season where you’re leading off the inning. And especially coming from the outfield, it’s not like you’ve got a lot of time to be able to look at a scouting report, as well as get timing and watch the guy actually throwing pitches on the mound.
“I find it to be good practice going up there like semi-blind because at the end of the day, you’ve still got to be able to play baseball.”
The chance to play baseball has been taken away from Montgomery at inopportune times over the past 18 months. He suffered a broken right ankle during Texas A&M’s run to the Men’s College World Series in June 2024 and then dealt with a right foot fracture that ended his 2025 regular season and kept him out of Double-A Birmingham’s Southern League playoff lineup.
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But throughout those ailments and subsequent rehab sessions, he’s stuck to the process. Even after the gruesome nature of his ankle injury, he recovered to play 121 games between High-A Winston-Salem and Birmingham this season, tying for the lead among all White Sox Minor Leaguers with 50 extra-base hits and finishing third among full-season qualifiers with a 136 wRC+.
Montgomery knew he’d have to miss the first few weeks of the Fall League as he recovered, but he also knew it was an opportunity to end his first pro campaign on his own terms.
When the White Sox landed 2024’s 12th overall pick as part of the Garrett Crochet deal last December, they knew they were getting a future potential middle-of-the-order bat in the switch-hitting outfielder. The AFL has been able to provide a glimpse into what makes MLB’s No. 35 prospect such a potent hitter:
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His seven hardest-hit balls during the Fall League have come off five different offerings — sinker, cutter, slider, four-seamer and changeup. He’s reached base in all seven games he’s appeared for Glendale, putting eight balls in play in excess of 100 mph — three of which came Saturday alone.
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So how has Montgomery been able to find a high level of success against a variety of pitches inherently designed to keep him off balance?
“I’d say probably my body positioning,” he said. “That was a big goal for me coming out here in the Fall League. I want to make sure that my body’s in good position to be able to deliver the barrel to different locations, different speeds, different pitches, and so I feel like my body control, body positioning has been better and that’s allowed me to have some better results.”
