Tag: braden montgomery

Former Red Sox OF prospect Braden Montgomery (part of Garrett Crochet trade) named South Atlantic League Player of the Week

Former Red Sox prospect Braden Montgomery has been named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week of May 5-11, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

One of four prospects traded to the White Sox for ace left-hander Garrett Crochet in December, Montgomery was a man on a mission in High-A Winston-Salem’s series against Bowling Green this past week. Appearing in all six games, the switch-hitting outfielder went 10-for-21 (.476) with two doubles, three home runs, 10 RBIs, five runs scored, two walks, and one strikeout.

Montgomery went deep twice on Tuesday, crushed a walk-off three-run homer on Wednesday, stroked two hits on Thursday, drove in a pair of runs on Friday, drew a walk on Saturday, and doubled as part of another two-hit effort on Sunday. The 22-year-old is now batting a stout .405/.480/.762 with six doubles, three home runs, 12 RBIs, eight runs scored, one stolen base, six walks, and eight strikeouts in 12 games (50 plate appearances) for Winston-Salem since being promoted from Low-A Kannapolis in late April. He received that promotion after slashing .304/.393/.493 with four doubles, three homers, 19 RBIs, 14 runs scored, six stolen bases, 10 walks, and 19 strikeouts over 18 games (84 plate appearances) to open his first full professional season.

Altogether, Montgomery has batted .342/.425/.595 with 10 doubles, six home runs, 31 RBIs, 22 runs scored, seven stolen bases, 16 walks, and 27 strikeouts in 30 games (134 plate appearances) thus far in 2025. That includes a .318/.423/.506 line in 104 plate appearances swinging from the left side of the plate and a .423/.433/.885 line in 30 plate appearances swinging from the right side.

Among 33 qualified White Sox minor-leaguers to this point in the year, Montgomery most notably ranks third in batting average, wOBA (.465), and wRC+ (178), fourth in slugging percentage and OPS (1.020), fifth in isolated power (.252), seventh in on-base percentage, 11th in strikeout rate (20.1 percent), and 13th in walk rate (11.9 percent), per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Montgomery has seen playing time at all three outfield spots this season. Between his stops at Kannapolis and Winston-Salem, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder has logged 135 innings in center, 58 innings in right, and 27 innings in left without committing an error or recording an assist. He has also made five starts at DH.

Montgomery was selected by the Red Sox with the 12th overall pick in last year’s draft out of Texas A&M by way of Stanford (where he played two seasons before transferring as a junior). The 2021 Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year signed for an under-slot $5 million in July but was still recovering from a fractured right ankle he suffered during the NCAA Super Regionals a month prior. As such, he did not appear in a game for one of Boston’s minor-league affiliates and make his professional debut before being dealt to Chicago alongside catcher Kyle Teel, infielder Chase Meidroth, and right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez in the blockbuster trade for Crochet at December’s Winter Meetings.

Montgomery, who just turned 22 last month, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Chicago’s farm system and the No. 60 prospect in the sport. With plus power and arm strength, he profiles “as a three true outcomes corner outfielder” who could break in at the big league level for the White Sox as soon as next year, according to his Baseball America scouting report.

In the more immediate future, one would think Montgomery has a strong chance to earn another promotion from Winston-Salem to Double-A Birmingham for his first test in the upper minors at some point this summer.

(Picture of Braden Montgomery: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Which four prospects did Red Sox trade to White Sox for Garrett Crochet?

The Red Sox bit the proverbial bullet and dipped into their talented prospect pool to complete a trade with the White Sox for frontline starter Garrett Crochet on Wednesday.

In exchange for Crochet — a 25-year-old left-hander who is coming off an All-Star season and is under club control through 2026 — Boston sent right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez, catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, and infielder Chase Meidroth to Chicago.

Gonzalez, who turns 23 in March, was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 16 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The native Venezuelan originally signed with the Red Sox for $250,000 as an international free agent coming out of Maracay in July 2018. He was added to the 40-man roster last November to protect him from Rule 5 Draft eligibility.

After being recognized as the organization’s 2023 Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year, Gonzalez had an up-and-down 2024 season. The righty posted a 4.73 (4.12 FIP) with 92 strikeouts to 46 walks in 24 appearances (19 starts) spanning 83 2/3 innings for Double-A Portland. He fared better in the second half, as evidenced by a 2.31 ERA (3.52 FIP) in nine outings (seven starts) after the MLB All-Star break. Opposing hitters batted just .157 against him in that stretch.

Listed at 6-foot and 167 pounds, Gonzalez throws from a three-quarters arm slot and incorporates a medium-high leg kick into his delivery. As noted in his SoxProspects.com scouting report, the lively hurler operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a 94-96 mph fastball that can reach 97 mph, a 77-80 mph curveball, an 87-88 mph changeup, and an 86-88 mph cutter. His command and control are still considered works in progress.

Teel, who turns 23 in February, was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 4 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 25 prospect in the sport. The New Jersey native was originally selected by the Red Sox with the 14th overall pick in last year’s draft out of Virginia. He received a $4 million signing bonus.

Following a successful professional debut that saw him reach the Double-A level, Teel returned to Portland for the start of the 2024 season and represented the Red Sox at July’s All-Star Futures Game before receiving a promotion to Triple-A Worcester in August. Altogether, the left-handed hitter batted .288/.386/.433 (134 wRC+) with 23 doubles, 13 home runs, an organizational-leading 78 RBIs, 88 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 68 walks, and 116 strikeouts in 112 total games (505 plate appearances). He was named an Eastern League Post-Season All-Star and a Baseball America Double-A All-Star.

On the other side of the ball, Teel was voted as the Eastern League’s top defensive catcher in Baseball America’s 2024 Best Tools survey. Equipped with plus arm strength, the 6-foot, 190-pound backstop logged 655 1/3 total innings behind the plate between Portland and Worcester and threw out 23 of 116 possible base stealers. He also allowed 11 passed balls and committed 12 errors in 793 chances.

Montgomery, who turns 22 in April, was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 6 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 59 prospect in the sport. The Texas A&M product was selected by the Red Sox with the 12th overall pick in the 2024 draft but did not make his professional debut after signing for $5 million since he was still recovering from a fractured right ankle he suffered in June’s NCAA Super Regionals.

Before seeing his junior season get cut short, the switch-hitting Montgomery had slashed .322/.454/.733 with 14 doubles, one triple, 27 home runs, 85 RBIs, 65 runs scored, five stolen bases, 53 walks, and 59 strikeouts in 61 games (295 plate appearances) for the Aggies. On the other side of the ball, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder saw most of his playing time this past spring come in right field and he was named to the 2024 SEC All-Defensive Team among various other honors. His arm strength grades as a 70 on Baseball America’s 20-80 scouting scale.

Meidroth, 23, was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 8 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The California native was originally selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2022 draft out of San Diego. He received a $272,500 signing bonus and had established himself as one of the organization’s more unique talents by utilizing his contact skills and plate discipline to compensate for his lack of power.

Meidroth spent the 2024 season with Worcester and was recognized as the WooSox’ Most Valuable Player. In 122 games, the right-handed hitter batted .293/.437/.401 with 20 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 57 RBIs, 87 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, 105 walks, and 71 strikeouts over 558 plate appearances. He was named a Triple-A All-Star by Baseball America.

Defensively, Meidroth saw playing time at every infield position besides first base with Worcester this year. The versatile 5-foot-10, 170-pounder logged 412 innings at shortstop, 275 1/3 innings at third base, and 137 2/3 innings at second base. He committed 10 total errors (seven at shortstop, three at third base) in 340 chances altogether.

(Picture of Kyle Teel: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)