Paul Sullivan: White Sox call up No. 2 prospect Braden Montgomery - and he hits a walk-off home run

CHICAGO - Before his major league debut Tuesday night at Rate Field, Chicago White Sox right fielder Braden Montgomery was discussing his inner confidence.

"If you see yourself succeeding, if you can understand what that will be like, then you've got a better chance," he said. "And that's what you focus on."

Montgomery succeeded in dramatic fashion, hitting a two-out, two-run, opposite-field home run to give the Sox a crazy 6-5, 10-inning win over the Atlanta Braves.

After receiving a standing ovation from Sox fans before his first at-bat and after his first hit, he turned the ballpark upside down with one swing against Braves closer Rafael Iglesias.

The ball hit the top of the left-field wall and bounced over, as the Sox players poured out of the dugout for a wild celebration and fans whipped out their phones to record the moment.

It was the fifth-ever walk-off home run in a major league debut, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs, and the first since 2015.

The Sox came back from an early 4-0 deficit to pull within 1/2 game of the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central, starting their biggest homestand in five years in grand fashion.

If you plan on coming to the South Side to see Montgomery, you might get a different show.

"I'm never the same player," the 23-year-old Montgomery said before the game. "I'm looking to move the needle in all facets of my game each day, so that's kind of what I aspire to do.

"I'm not the same player week to week, month to month, and hopefully not year by year."

The Sox opened up the six-game homestand on a sweltering night by adding a little extra spice to it, calling up their No. 2 prospect, the most talked about minor leaguer in the system since Luis Robert Jr.

The Sox announced they selected Montgomery's contract from Triple-A Charlotte and recalled left-hander Joe Rock from Charlotte. Outfielder Rikku Nishida and right-hander David Sandlin were optioned to Charlotte, while outfielder Austin Hays was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Montgomery on the 40-man roster.

Manager Will Venable inserted the switch-hitting Montgomery in right field and in the No. 6 hole in the lineup. He went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, including an RBI single in the fourth for his first major league hit.

The other Montgomery, 24-year-old Colson, was out Tuesday with lower-body tightness and is day-to-day, Venable said. General manager Chris Getz said they were trying to "avoid a lack of production or a potential lingering issue."

Either way, Braden Montgomery will get regular playing time and will be expected to help make up for the absence of injured slugger Munetaka Murakami, an offensive force that's been hard to replace.

"We're not going to call him up here and sit him on the bench," Venable said. "He's a guy we're excited to have in the lineup on a daily basis … He projects as an above-average right fielder and above-average center fielder. But the way we're constructed right now it will be mostly right field."

The Sox also didn't call him up to clean the dugout, though Montgomery has a reputation as a fastidious and tidy person who's been known to pick up trash after games.

Montgomery said he started doing that in his senior year of high school in Mississippi, explaining that "something as simple as throwing trash away is something that should be upheld by the guys. It's our trash. Why not? Take accountability for it."

He added that he grew up hearing the phrase "leave it a place better than you found it," and those words stuck with him.

"After hearing that so many times, it either resonates with me … or you forget about it and move on to the next thing," he said. "I guess I just sat with it and understood we've got a lot. We live a good life, and people serve us in so many different ways. There's a reason why we should pick up after ourselves and not burden others unnecessarily."

I'm not sure he can continue cleaning up after himself and his teammates in the majors, but I do know thousands of moms who follow the Sox will now be telling their kids to do what Montgomery says and go clean up their bedroom. I'm pretty sure Getz was tidying up his suite after hearing the kid talk.

Montgomery was the No. 12 pick in the 2024 draft by the Boston Red Sox, and the White Sox acquired him along with Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez in the Garrett Crochet deal on Dec. 11, 2024. It was the first big move of the rebuild by Getz, and Montgomery was considered a can't-miss prospect.

"He's come in here and continued to get better," Getz said. "You hate to limit guys, to say ‘This is what I thought he was going to be.' But even if he was just the floor of what we felt like he could be, we felt he could be a contributor to this team. But he's taken it to another level, and obviously we appreciate that."

Montgomery hit .315 with four home runs, 19 RBIs and a .912 OPS in 29 games at Triple-A Charlotte after being promoted from Double-A Birmingham. He's expected to get the bulk of his playing time in right field, but he can play all three outfield positions and has a plus arm.

While Montgomery is second behind infielder Caleb Bonemer in MLB.com's current Sox prospect rankings, he was No. 1 on the preseason list. He becomes the third top-10 preseason prospect to be called up to the majors this season, joining pitcher Noah Schultz (No. 2) and outfielder/infielder Sam Antonacci (No. 9). He's the 12th player to make his major league debut with the Sox this season.

It's the start of a busy week for the Sox, who started Tuesday with a moment of silence for late Bulls broadcaster Stacey King, who died on Sunday. They'll play the best team in baseball in the Braves, followed by the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

The weekend series against the Dodgers is almost entirely sold out, as Sox fans have responded to the team's style of play and the grittiness exhibited by players like Antonacci, Meidroth and Miguel Vargas.

Montgomery's speed, talent and personality should fit in well. He said this is "all I've been thinking about and dreaming about since I decided I wanted to pursue baseball," and he's ready to show Sox fans who he is and what he brings to the table.

"I'm a fun, dynamic player," Montgomery said. "I enjoy being with my teammates, feeding off what they do, and I think I can do a whole lot of different things on the ballfield."

Does Montgomery know the identity of the team from playing with them in spring training?

"I don't know, we'll see," he said. "I feel like a lot of it comes from putting boots on the ground and actually being out there making it happen. It's different watching it in the clubhouse in Charlotte, or hearing about it or hearing the message. You've kind of got to be in the trenches with the guys to see what it's like. I think I'll jell well, but probably have an idea what it's like. We'll see tonight."

The Sox continue to develop their young team at the major-league level while also competing in the American League Central, in which they're 1 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Guardians. There could be another big move this week with the rotation, which Getz said was being discussed after sending down Sandlin.

Could it be left-hander Hagen Smith, their top pitching prospect?

"We're still sorting through it," Getz said, not ruling out Smith or anything for that matter. Venable was also tight-lipped.

Getz called himself "generally an optimist" when asked if he knew the young talent would manifest so quickly in what was expected to be another baby step in the rebuild. But you'd have to be the most optimistic person in the world to see the Sox competing for a postseason spot in June when they began spring training in Arizona.

Was Getz thinking that big?

"Yeah, well, it just goes back to … our goal was to take a meaningful step forward," he said, repeating his offseason mantra. "That can show up in so many different ways. It just so happens right now that we are contending.

"But it is a long season, and a lot of things can happen. We're going through a very difficult part of our schedule right now. I've got faith in this group that they're going to be able to continue to fight and put some wins in the win column.

"But I rarely ask myself where we're going to be in the beginning of June. But at this point I'll say I'm happy where things are."

It's going to be an interesting week on the South Side, so to paraphrase Hawk Harrelson: Sit back and strap it on … and then go clean up your room.

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