Padres pitching depth gets a quiet boost as former top prospect Carson Montgomery returns

In the Arizona Fall League (AFL), Montgomery’s been leaning sinker/slider heavy against righties, then sprinkling in the changeup to keep lefties honest. The stat line looks like what you’d expect from a guy shaking rust off and testing his edges — 1.74 ERA (solid), seven strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings, but also seven walks and 11 hits allowed. The command isn’t fully ironed out yet, and hitters got some contact… which is fine. The point isn’t perfection. The point is that he came out of it healthy.

And one of the coolest parts? The scouting report isn’t just coming from some clipboard in the stands — it’s coming from Enrique Bradfield Jr., who’s basically had a front-row seat to Montgomery’s return while they’ve been reunited in Peoria. Bradfield’s review is the kind Padres fans should latch onto:

Montgomery has “the ability to get on the mound and pump some good fuel,” and Bradfield notes the secondaries have gotten better, he’s filling up the zone, getting swing-and-miss, and letting the defense work behind him.

That’s not nothing. That’s the outline of a guy who can re-enter the organization’s pitching conversation — whether that becomes rotation depth, a multi-inning bridge option, or just the kind of “break glass in case of emergency” arm contenders always need.

Dec. 31, 2025, by Tremayne Person