How Ryan Fuller Helped Chicago White Sox Prospect Colson Montgomery Get Back On Track

CHICAGO Colson Montgomerys second season in Triple-A began with red flags.

But a somewhat unconventional approach to his development may have been just what he needed to get back on track to the major leagues.

In Montgomerys first 103 plate appearances in Charlotte this season, he struck out 43 times and hit just .149 with a .479 OPS.

White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller said they noticed movements that looked off, so they sent Montgomery to the teams facility in Arizona for about two weeks.

It's not unheard of to take a prospect out of game action midseason, but it's also not common, especially for first-round picks.

For the former 36th-ranked prospect who had an opportunity in spring training to win the major league starting shortstop job needing this type of restart wasnt ideal.

But Fuller was pleased with the way Montgomery approached the process.

I think any competitor is not going to be excited about being removed from the game for a little bit, Fuller said.

But he also is a really smart kid and understands I didnt get off to the start I wanted.

There are changes that need to be made.

So once it was set and he was told, he was 100 percent committed and sent a text message right away, Lets get after this.

Lets get it right.

Fuller didnt want to reinvent Montgomery, 23, rather reaffirm who he is and what he does best.

With the help of hitting labs, force plates, high-speed cameras, biomechanists and performance staff, they got to work with the goal of inching closer every day to his top form.

The process began with individualized work, what Fuller called eight hours a day to just grind away.

The physical aspects of this process were certainly important, but Fuller said they also talked about mindset every night at dinner.

General manager Chris Getz said Friday that Montgomery is much more confident in himself now, compared to the beginning of the season.

Montgomery also played in five Arizona Complex League games at the end of his stint out west.

Though he only went 3-for-17 in those games, hes had immediate success since returning to Triple-A Charlotte.

In his first 10 games back with the Knights, hes 14-for-41, good for a .341 batting average with six doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, five walks and 10 strikeouts.

Getz views it as a fresh start.

The goal all along was, 'OK, we're taking him out of the Charlotte lineup, and when he comes back, that's when his 2025 season begins, Getz said.

For him, you can kind of eliminate the burden of making up for a slow start while approaching it that way, and he's done that so far.

It hasn't been every game that he's been getting multiple hits and showing production in the box.

However, he's bouncing back from days he didn't get any hits.

He's responding well, overall, with how he's approaching it from a professionalism standpoint.

White Sox outfielder Austin Slaters rehab assignment overlapped with Montgomerys return to Charlotte, and he noticed a professional approach.

I was impressed, Slater said.

He was back doing his work.

He was one of the first guys in there every day.

So the drive is there for him.

I thought how he reacted coming back from at-bats that don't go your way, I thought was a really impressive shift from what I had heard was happening before.

Andrew Benintendi also played two rehab games in Charlotte last week, and said Montgomery played a smooth shortstop while hitting the ball hard.

As a ten-year MLB veteran and former No.

7 overall pick, Benintendi knows the pressure that comes with expectations.

"I think that once he can slow it down as far as off the field stuff, hes obviously a hyped prospect.

I'm sure he hears it from media everywhere he goes.

So I think there's a time to adjust to that, Benintendi said.

If he just goes out and plays, he's talented and he's going to play for a long time.

...

I think that maybe a lot of people are panicking about him and stuff like that, but I don't think that's the case at all.

He's still super young so go out there and play and everything will fall into place." Montgomery, a 6-foot-3 left-handed hitter, slugged two home runs and two doubles in Saturdays game.

Fuller considers that type of power to all fields something makes Montgomery special.

Its also part of their focus in Arizona.

Instead of working on different ways of moving the bat through the zone, Fuller emphasized contact points with the same swing.

For example, if the pitch is thrown outside, let it travel and shoot it to the opposite field.

On an offspeed pitch, let the bat path catch it out front.

So rather than feel like he has 12 different swings, its one swing that covers different parts of the zone really well, Fuller said.

Colson at his best, I liken it to him being a basketball player which he was incredible in high school.

He always talks about, I want to be an athlete, I want to be able to move like he does at shortstop when hes making those incredible plays.

And we want to match up what he does, his athletic moves in the box.

So being able to do that when you are moving while you are executing your gameplan better, you dont feel like your body is out of position.

You could do the things you want to do so the body and mind are working together.

By nature of Montgomery being a first-round pick, hes an important part of the ongoing White Sox rebuild.

His 2024 season in Triple-A and the start of the 2025 season came with underwhelming numbers, but he may have turned a corner after working with Fuller in Arizona.

Getz said he feels good with where Montgomery is at now, and he expects him to be with the major league team at some point, too.

Fuller has no doubt Montgomery can be a significant major league contributor.

100%.

There's nothing for me to add there, Fuller said.

He is a special player.

You watch him play shortstop, can cover ground really well.

It's just the physical tools and as he matures and feels more and more comfortable in who he is in this game, he's going to be very special.

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CLICK HERE ELKO DEMOTED: After hitting three home runs in 10 games with the White Sox, first baseman Tim Elko has been sent back down to the Charlotte Knights.

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