PHOENIX — Braden Montgomery drove home Rikuu Nishida with a double in the first inning of Double-A Birmingham’s April 14 game against Rocket City in Madison, Ala.
Montgomery knocked in Nishida with another double in the second inning. He collected his third hit of the game in the fourth inning with a single.
It was the first of four multi-hit games last week for Montgomery, the top-ranked prospect in the Chicago White Sox system according to MLB.com.
The outfielder earned Southern League player of the week honors for the week of April 13-19 on Monday. Montgomery went 12-for-20 (.600) with five doubles, one home run and seven RBIs in six games.
Montgomery had a .148 batting average on April 10. It was up to .358 entering Tuesday.
“(He is a) really smart hitter who is able to see two swings side by side and understand the difference and make those adjustments,” Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller said on Tuesday at Rate Field.
Montgomery, 23, came into Tuesday with a .358/.456/.755 slash line with five doubles, two triples, four home runs and 14 RBIs in 15 games. And he carried an eight-game hitting streak into Tuesday.
“It’s really fun to see him hitting with power through center field, it’s not cheating to the pull side, it’s driving the baseball through the middle of the field,” Fuller said.
Fuller recently provided updates on the progress at the plate for some of the Sox minor leaguers.
Montgomery ranked first in the Southern League in slugging percentage and he was tied for first in doubles, coming into Tuesday. He was second in OPS (1.211) and tied for second in average, hits (19) and triples.
Shortstop Caleb Bonemer, a second-round pick in 2024, ranks at or near the top of several offensive categories in the South Atlantic League. He homered in Tuesday’s game for High-A Winston-Salem, his fifth of the season. As of Tuesday afternoon, Bonemer was tied for the league lead in home runs and ranked second with 16 RBIs. He had a league-leading eight doubles.
“Caleb is a beast,” Fuller said. “He’s doing a great job, really good start of the year. Really cool to see him develop. Always physical but now you see the adjustment, his swing, the pitches he can handle, different parts of the zone, pitch types, that’s what you want to see from a guy developing.
“Excited to see more of the sample for him, but the more he plays the better he gets.”
Bonemer, 20, is the No. 3 prospect in the Sox system, according to MLB.com. He was named the Carolina League Most Valuable Player last season while with Single-A Kannapolis.
He has a .273/.397/.691 slash line this season. His Winston-Salem teammate Colby Shelton earned South Atlantic League player of the week honors on Monday. The infielder has a league-leading 21 RBIs and .434 average in 14 games this season.
At Triple A, 2023 first-round draft selection Jacob Gonzalez continues to put in the work with the Charlotte Knights. He had two hits, including a home run, on Tuesday against Nashville. Gonzalez has homered in his last two games. As of Tuesday afternoon, he was tied for sixth in the International League with five home runs.
White Sox non-oster invitee infielder Jacob Gonzalez participates in media day during spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 17, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
“He is doing a great job, going back to spring,” Fuller said. “That’s another guy where he’s getting feedback from the coaches, he’s taking it in and the goal now is not to be good in Triple A, it’s how do we get you to the big leagues. His routine, he has done a great job with sticking with it, getting his body and his bat in a position to hit balls on a line and then with two strikes, continue to do that.
“He’s one that’s been, spring training to the start of the year, really diligent in his work and it’s been great to show up and he knows what it’s going to take to get him here and he’s working really hard at it.”
Gonzalez, 23, has a .257/.369/.514 slash line with one double, one triple, five home runs and 13 RBIs in 19 games. Fuller said the infielder is “being present.”
“Especially in the climate of baseball today where guys are moving really quickly,” Fuller said. “He’s seen guys jump him and get to the big leagues a little bit before him. But to his credit, really mature kid, understands that when I get there, I want to stay there. And if we need to get it right, it might take me a little bit more time.
“He’s being present. He knows he’s in Triple A. He knows there’s things to work on. But he knows where he ultimately wants to be, like all these guys.”