GLENDALE, Ariz. — Chicago White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery arrived at previous spring training camps with the mindset of having something to prove.
That thought process hasn’t changed, even after hitting 21 home runs in 71 games as a rookie in 2025.
“I’m still trying to prove myself — trying to prove myself to the league and trying to prove myself to myself of coming in every single day and being the best person and player I can be,” Montgomery said on Saturday at Camelback Ranch.
“I have a lot of really good coaches and teammates who bring that out of me. I’m looking forward to it.”
Montgomery had been one of several early-arriving position players at this year’s camp. The Sox held their first full squad workout of the spring on Sunday.
Montgomery was among the players working on fundamentals such as secondary leads on the bases before taking a few cuts in the cages.
The next steps he’d like to take in his overall game for 2026 center on consistency.
Chicago White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery fields a ground ball hit by Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia in the sixth inning of a game at Rate Field in Chicago on Aug. 26, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
“Just consistently getting better, putting in my work and preparation and learning the game,” Montgomery said. “The more I watch the game, the more I feel like I get better. You think you see everything in baseball and then there’s something that happens that’s crazy.
“It’s continuing to adapt and not really be satisfied, I guess you could say. Yeah, I had a good second half, but this next year, now they have more scouting on me. They know what I like and don’t like. I just have to keep adapting. Keep being a competitor.”
Montgomery, who turns 24 on Feb. 27, had a .239/.311/.529 slash line with the 21 home runs and 55 RBIs last season after reaching the majors on July 4.
“To see what he can do over an entire season will be fun,” Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi said.
Montgomery’s 2025 journey included a pause in late April while with Triple-A Charlotte to partake in individual work on his swing at the organization’s Arizona facility. He returned to Triple A after a couple of weeks and eventually made his way to the big leagues.
“(2025) didn’t start off the best or exactly where you wanted to be,” Montgomery said. “Sometimes that’s just what happens. Had a really good support system with my family and the front office with the White Sox. They have always believed in me. They never really doubted me.
“The whole Arizona trip, it wasn’t a doubt thing. (It was) ‘We do believe in you and we just want to get it right.’ It was one of the best things for me.”
Chicago White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery hits a two-run home run in the fifth inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins at Rate Field in Chicago on Aug. 22, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The 2021 first-round draft pick looks to continue growing.
“Colson went through last year, and it was a great year,” manager Will Venable said on Saturday. “He’s still working to be a complete hitter and just continue to progress and develop.
“We expect a guy who is making good decisions at the plate. We know about the power. There’s some pitches that he struggled with last year that we want to make sure that he’s able to cover this year, and he’s going to be working on those things.”
All 21 of Montgomery’s home runs came in the second half, as did 53 of the 55 RBIs. He hit the fifth-most home runs in the majors after the 2025 All-Star break and ranked third in RBIs.
“It’s really hard to overstate how impressive what he did last year was,” assistant general manager Josh Barfield said on Thursday. “From an offensive standpoint, being able to make an adjustment like that on the fly, getting pulled out of the (Triple A) season (for the work at the Arizona facility) and then going back and having the success he did at the big leagues.
“Typically guys, when they get to the big leagues, struggle and you have to make that adjustment and you figure it out a little bit. But he hit the ground running and never really looked back offensively.”
Barfield also noted Montgomery’s steady defense.
“Because he hit so many homers and was so good offensively, the defense kind of got overlooked,” Barfield said. “He played really good defense at short, which is incredibly hard to do. Now it’s continuing to build off that success, the consistency on the defensive side.
“And offensively, as great a year as he had, there’s still some things he knows he can improve on. With him, you’ve heard about the prospect status for all these years, and for good reason. And we got to see glimpses of it. But I still think that his best days are ahead.”