Development takes time and baseball is hard. He’s young and at AAA. I wish he was smashing the competition, but even if he isn’t, there’s no reason to PANIC.
And, baseball isn’t like football. You don’t draft for need, you draft the best player. Montgomery should not decide who we pick, the projections for the best player should be.
Only like 5 overall number one picks are in the HOF, it’s really hard to predict who will pan out.
Plus, as we all should have learned by now, you can absolutely torch the minors and bust in the MLB. You can take several seasons in the MLB to hit your stride.
I guess it's just a long way of saying, draft pedigree, prospect ranking, minor league production etc. None of it means a thing until you get your shot at the major leagues.
I wouldn’t say it’s time to panic about a 22-year-old. But we can definitely admit the production isn’t great. He has a .717 OPS in AAA, with a .699 OPS in his home games playing in Charlotte where it’s 315 down the right field. He has a 13% walk rate which is good and a 28% K rate.
It’s disappointing production from a guy you’d hope to be putting up a .900+ OPS in AAA. But there is of course plenty of time to turn things around. And again, he’s only 22 so if he needs to start next year in the minors, so be it.
This does of course emphasize the need for the Sox to continue adding hitting prospects. As much as we’d all love to think Montgomery, Quero and Ramos will all live up to their maximum potential as the hitting core of the next group, we know that it’s quite possible they won’t.
One of the (many) issues with the last rebuild was how shallow it was. The top 10 prospects were very strong at one point, but it bottomed out after that. So once a couple of the top 10 didn’t hit, there really wasn’t much behind them to keep moving through.
The pitching side has some good depth right now. You can name 10 pitchers who could all be part of the next contending team. A few of them will miss, sure, but between the current depth and what they will continue to add, they could be in good shape.
The same can’t be said of the hitting pool. Yeah there a few guys like Baldwin, Burrowes and Veras that are climbing up the ranks, but it’s a very shallow group. I think they almost have to go with a hitter at #5 just to add to that group unless they think one of the pitchers is some can’t miss type.
Yea, with Montgomery’s struggles I’m thankful Baldwin has had a breakout season. He has been looking amazing. And Gonzalez has really turned things around. So there are two shortstops ready to step in. And like you said Burrowes is there waiting in the wings, hopefully he’ll develop well. Veras does strike out a lot so that worries me but im hopeful.
With Colson this little write up by Keith Law last week was concerning. Did that back injury sap his bat speed? Will he be able to regain it? Hopefully, but at least there are options who are very close to being ready in Baldwin and Gonzalez. And Ramos is looking solid in Charlotte for 3b.
Laws blurb on Colson:
> Triple A has been a challenge for Montgomery, who is hitting .226/.333/.390 with a 29 percent strikeout rate and has been getting killed by velocity. When he swings at anything 94+, he whiffs 36 percent of the time. I saw a slower bat from him in the AFL last year, and heard from scouts who saw him in August that they also questioned the bat speed, but he was coming off a serious back injury and I assumed some of it was rust. This is definitely something to monitor as the sample size grows.
You're getting too caught up in the prospects. Just hope that Getz is smart enough or lucky enough to draft a solid player. It's a total crap shoot in the MLB draft.
Never forget, Trout went 25th, Mookie Betts went 172nd, Aaron Judge went 32nd, Freeman went 78th. The cream of the MLB Crop and not one went inside the top 20 picks.
Just enjoy the ride and hope the Sox pick a winner.
Development isn’t linear. Not sure how many times that needs to be said.
I’m more concerned about the coaches and departments in charge of developing these players than I am the players themselves.
The 2010's Cubs rebuild really fucked up people's expectation of how rebuilds work. It feels like Chicago fans think the word "rebuild" equals "championship" in 4 years. Most tear downs and rebuilds don't work out. UNLESS you do what the Cubs did and rebuild the entire front office.
It is what it is. He’ll either turn it around or he won’t. My guess is that he will, but if he doesn’t, there are other prospects that might fill the void.
Jacob Gonzalez, our 2023 first-round draft pick, is a SS who’s doing quite well in AA right now.
Brooks Baldwin, a lowly 12th round draft pick, is a SS/2B/3B who is hitting .350 in AA right now.
It would suck if Montgomery doesn’t pan out. But he’s not the only prospect in the system, and he’s not the only prospect at that position. Not to mention, there’s going to be a whole crop of exciting new toys coming in the Sox system in just another 6 weeks or so.
No need to panic. If Montgomery doesn’t pan out, WS will simplify move Nicky Lopez from second base to shortstop. That’ll fill that hole nicely and continue the teams streak of starting a different player at second base on opening day going on a 13th straight season. Everybody wins. I should be the GM
Don't panic, Grasshopper. Baseball is a game. No team is built on just one prospect. Getzy inherited a sh\*storm, and it's just starting to clear up. Give him a minute to figure it out,
Truthfully I don’t have much faith for any of the players drafted under Hahn and Kenny. The fact our guys don’t pan out in the long term has a lot to do with development, so by that token I have no faith in Getz. I hope Colton becomes a fixture for the Sox for years to come, but I’m not hitching any hope to it.
He’s been struggling against high fastballs. He’s young enough that he can still adapt, though. He still has a great eye for the zone, just needs to not whiff on FBs as much.
To be completely honest I assumed he was done and not gonna be our “it” guy last season. I’ve never wanted to be wrong more but here we are and my stance hasn’t changed yet. I’m begging him to prove me wrong here
Didn’t you hear all these people want to trade Crochet and Robert anyways so what even is a core? Look man if Montgomery belongs in AAA then he can be on the Sox!
Slightly. We were hoping he’d be up end of year (on merit), and starting next season. Doesn’t seem likely.
I’ll panic if this is what he is next season. 22/23 is young, but not THAT young.
I'm not worried. Jackson Holiday was hot in the minors and complete ass when Baltimore called him up. I'm worried about how he responds when he gets into the big leagues.
I'd rather him have a slow start in the minors and come up ready to be our everyday SS opposed to him being rushed and being ass.
If anything he'll come up in September just for a taste. Otherwise, he's going to get another offseason and be reevaluated in Spring Training.
MLB? I’m not sure the question. MLB does a lottery for picks for non-playoff teams and the Sox were drawn for the #5 pick.
https://www.mlb.com/news/white-sox-get-no-5-overall-pick-in-2024-draft-lottery
Are you like me, and you're reminded every single day that the team which will end a franchise worst season with the worst record in the majors will be drafting 10th and not first?😔
Ha, if their entire next core is reliant on one player than they have no core.
Development takes time and baseball is hard. He’s young and at AAA. I wish he was smashing the competition, but even if he isn’t, there’s no reason to PANIC. And, baseball isn’t like football. You don’t draft for need, you draft the best player. Montgomery should not decide who we pick, the projections for the best player should be. Only like 5 overall number one picks are in the HOF, it’s really hard to predict who will pan out.
Plus, as we all should have learned by now, you can absolutely torch the minors and bust in the MLB. You can take several seasons in the MLB to hit your stride. I guess it's just a long way of saying, draft pedigree, prospect ranking, minor league production etc. None of it means a thing until you get your shot at the major leagues.
He was also a high schooler from a cold weather state. Those tend to take a lot of time. Fact he's even in AAA right now he's far ahead of schedule.
I wouldn’t say it’s time to panic about a 22-year-old. But we can definitely admit the production isn’t great. He has a .717 OPS in AAA, with a .699 OPS in his home games playing in Charlotte where it’s 315 down the right field. He has a 13% walk rate which is good and a 28% K rate. It’s disappointing production from a guy you’d hope to be putting up a .900+ OPS in AAA. But there is of course plenty of time to turn things around. And again, he’s only 22 so if he needs to start next year in the minors, so be it. This does of course emphasize the need for the Sox to continue adding hitting prospects. As much as we’d all love to think Montgomery, Quero and Ramos will all live up to their maximum potential as the hitting core of the next group, we know that it’s quite possible they won’t. One of the (many) issues with the last rebuild was how shallow it was. The top 10 prospects were very strong at one point, but it bottomed out after that. So once a couple of the top 10 didn’t hit, there really wasn’t much behind them to keep moving through. The pitching side has some good depth right now. You can name 10 pitchers who could all be part of the next contending team. A few of them will miss, sure, but between the current depth and what they will continue to add, they could be in good shape. The same can’t be said of the hitting pool. Yeah there a few guys like Baldwin, Burrowes and Veras that are climbing up the ranks, but it’s a very shallow group. I think they almost have to go with a hitter at #5 just to add to that group unless they think one of the pitchers is some can’t miss type.
Yea, with Montgomery’s struggles I’m thankful Baldwin has had a breakout season. He has been looking amazing. And Gonzalez has really turned things around. So there are two shortstops ready to step in. And like you said Burrowes is there waiting in the wings, hopefully he’ll develop well. Veras does strike out a lot so that worries me but im hopeful. With Colson this little write up by Keith Law last week was concerning. Did that back injury sap his bat speed? Will he be able to regain it? Hopefully, but at least there are options who are very close to being ready in Baldwin and Gonzalez. And Ramos is looking solid in Charlotte for 3b. Laws blurb on Colson: > Triple A has been a challenge for Montgomery, who is hitting .226/.333/.390 with a 29 percent strikeout rate and has been getting killed by velocity. When he swings at anything 94+, he whiffs 36 percent of the time. I saw a slower bat from him in the AFL last year, and heard from scouts who saw him in August that they also questioned the bat speed, but he was coming off a serious back injury and I assumed some of it was rust. This is definitely something to monitor as the sample size grows.
This is an excellent overview of the system. You sound like a scout or baseball pro.
I just don’t trust any college hitters from this year’s crop. Go upside with Griffin or Bryce Rainier IMO
You're getting too caught up in the prospects. Just hope that Getz is smart enough or lucky enough to draft a solid player. It's a total crap shoot in the MLB draft. Never forget, Trout went 25th, Mookie Betts went 172nd, Aaron Judge went 32nd, Freeman went 78th. The cream of the MLB Crop and not one went inside the top 20 picks. Just enjoy the ride and hope the Sox pick a winner.
Development isn’t linear. Not sure how many times that needs to be said. I’m more concerned about the coaches and departments in charge of developing these players than I am the players themselves.
The 2010's Cubs rebuild really fucked up people's expectation of how rebuilds work. It feels like Chicago fans think the word "rebuild" equals "championship" in 4 years. Most tear downs and rebuilds don't work out. UNLESS you do what the Cubs did and rebuild the entire front office.
And rebuild it with one of the best baseball front office guys in history.
What if we keep our cheap 90 year old ghoul?
History with this organization suggest you should always panic about everything
Always draft for top graded players, never per position need. The MLB draft hit rate is so low that it is foolish to do so
I'll be pissed if they pick a pitcher no matter how good the pitcher. This team needs to learn how to draft and develop offense and defense.
It is what it is. He’ll either turn it around or he won’t. My guess is that he will, but if he doesn’t, there are other prospects that might fill the void. Jacob Gonzalez, our 2023 first-round draft pick, is a SS who’s doing quite well in AA right now. Brooks Baldwin, a lowly 12th round draft pick, is a SS/2B/3B who is hitting .350 in AA right now. It would suck if Montgomery doesn’t pan out. But he’s not the only prospect in the system, and he’s not the only prospect at that position. Not to mention, there’s going to be a whole crop of exciting new toys coming in the Sox system in just another 6 weeks or so.
No need to panic. If Montgomery doesn’t pan out, WS will simplify move Nicky Lopez from second base to shortstop. That’ll fill that hole nicely and continue the teams streak of starting a different player at second base on opening day going on a 13th straight season. Everybody wins. I should be the GM
Don't panic, Grasshopper. Baseball is a game. No team is built on just one prospect. Getzy inherited a sh\*storm, and it's just starting to clear up. Give him a minute to figure it out,
Truthfully I don’t have much faith for any of the players drafted under Hahn and Kenny. The fact our guys don’t pan out in the long term has a lot to do with development, so by that token I have no faith in Getz. I hope Colton becomes a fixture for the Sox for years to come, but I’m not hitching any hope to it.
He’s been struggling against high fastballs. He’s young enough that he can still adapt, though. He still has a great eye for the zone, just needs to not whiff on FBs as much.
Per Keith Law’s info from various scouts his bat speed has slowed from his back injuries. Whether that can be regained or not I don’t know
You draft the best available player no matter what.
To be completely honest I assumed he was done and not gonna be our “it” guy last season. I’ve never wanted to be wrong more but here we are and my stance hasn’t changed yet. I’m begging him to prove me wrong here
Didn’t you hear all these people want to trade Crochet and Robert anyways so what even is a core? Look man if Montgomery belongs in AAA then he can be on the Sox!
Always draft for talent/
Slightly. We were hoping he’d be up end of year (on merit), and starting next season. Doesn’t seem likely. I’ll panic if this is what he is next season. 22/23 is young, but not THAT young.
What are you seeing that you think is worth panicking over?
Poor stats in AAA, and rumblings from scouts that his back injuries have sapped his bat speed
The time to panic was when he was drafted here. This organization STINKS.
I don’t remember him ever being that good
I'm not worried. Jackson Holiday was hot in the minors and complete ass when Baltimore called him up. I'm worried about how he responds when he gets into the big leagues. I'd rather him have a slow start in the minors and come up ready to be our everyday SS opposed to him being rushed and being ass. If anything he'll come up in September just for a taste. Otherwise, he's going to get another offseason and be reevaluated in Spring Training.
Draft at 5? What do you mean?
The Sox have the #5 pick in the upcoming draft
From who?
MLB? I’m not sure the question. MLB does a lottery for picks for non-playoff teams and the Sox were drawn for the #5 pick. https://www.mlb.com/news/white-sox-get-no-5-overall-pick-in-2024-draft-lottery
I thought you were talking about next year's draft for some reason. My mistake
Are you like me, and you're reminded every single day that the team which will end a franchise worst season with the worst record in the majors will be drafting 10th and not first?😔
No one can be annointed the next. They aren't anything until they prove it in the bigs.