The White Sox improved by 19 wins from the 2024 to the 2025 season, marking significant improvement. Additionally, the White Sox played much better than a 60-102 team for most of the second half, as they had some important contributions from the rookies on the roster.
As we dissect the 2025 season, we will take a look at how each player performed, as well as their outlook for 2026 and beyond. The next player we will take a look at will be shortstop Colson Montgomery.
Montgomery had an interesting start to the 2025 season, as he was expected to make a push to make the Opening Day roster. That wasn’t the case, as he started the season with the Charlotte Knights. After he struggled to open the year with the Knights, he was sent to Arizona to work on his swing mechanics.
After his hiatus in Arizona, Montgomery improved his play in AAA. However, it wasn’t at the same level as when he was considered a top prospect. Regardless, the White Sox promoted him to the major league roster and he made his MLB debut on the 4th of July.
After an 0 for 2 MLB debut, Montgomery followed it up with a 3 for 5 performance. Montgomery then finished the rest July by hitting .257 with a .313 OBP, adding five homeruns and 18 RBIs.
August was an interesting month for Montgomery, as he hit 10 homeruns and had 20 RBIs, but only hit .198 with a .255 OBP. September was a great month for Montgomery, as he hit .267 with a .362 OBP, adding six homeruns and 17 RBIs.
COLSON 👏 MONTGOMERY 👏 pic.twitter.com/8sC45dedJR
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 27, 2025
Overall, in just 71 games, Montgomery hit .239 with a .311 OBP, had a .529 slugging percentage, a very good .840 OPS, and swatted 21 homers while driving in 55 runs. This was good for a phenomenal 3.3 WAR according to Baseball Reference. This was an extremely impressive showing for Montgomery, and he put himself back onto the map.
While Montgomery didn’t hit much for average, he has elite power skills and takes his walks. He will continue to be a valuable middle of the order bat for the White Sox, even if his average doesn’t improve. However, the biggest development for Montgomery came in the field, as he was one of the best defensive shortstops in the league during his MLB stint.
#WhiteSox Colson Montgomery had a 30/40 grade on his defense (per fangraphs)
On top of the surprising output on offense, he causally had a 6 OOA at shortstop.
If he qualified, that would ranks as the 8th best defensive shortstop of the year. The good defense is a bigger… pic.twitter.com/NywL6JLNSW
— Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) October 2, 2025
According to Baseball Savant, Montgomery had 7 outs above average, which put him among the best in the major leagues. Montgomery will have shortstop locked down if he continues to play like that.
Montgomery showed he belongs in the majors and after a disappointing 2024 and start to the 2025 season, he flipped the script. This deserves an A grade for the season, as with another similar season, he will pencil himself in as the White Sox shortstop of the future.