GLENDALE, Ariz. — Braden Montgomery experienced just how relentless baseball can be during his first professional season last year with the Chicago White Sox organization.
“You have a bad game, you have a good game, it doesn’t matter,” the outfielder told the Tribune on Sunday at Camelback Ranch. “The next 18 hours, you are preparing for your next game.
“It’s very much a process in which you’ve got to have your routines and your habits ironed out because it’s relentless. You’re not going to be able to sit back and wait for the next day because it’s coming, so you’ve got to prepare for it.”
Photos: An inside look at Chicago White Sox spring training
Preparation for 2026 is underway for the prospect, who is in Sox camp as a nonroster invitee.
“(He’s) just a guy that seems really mature the way he goes about his business,” Sox manager Will Venable said Tuesday. “He has a very thoughtful plan. Everything he does is with a purpose. Not surprising that after a healthy offseason he’s able to turn his body into even more of a weapon than it was before. He’s an extremely physical guy that has put on good weight and looks great out there.
“He’s a very driven guy. I think those types of guys want feedback and want to do everything they can to continue to get better, and Braden is just a guy who is really hungry to get better. It’s one of those guys you really like to coach.”
MLB.com recently ranked Montgomery as the No. 36 prospect in baseball. He’s part of the next group of Sox prospects in line to possibly contribute at some point this season.
This is the second consecutive year Montgomery has received a camp invite.
“It’s definitely different now, kind of understanding what goes into it,” Montgomery said. “Having a better feel for the staff, a better idea of how I want to go into things and start of these bonds with the new clubhouse guys. It’s a lot of turnover. We’ve got a lot of new faces and so it’s exciting. It’s kind of starting over from phase zero. We’re all kind of jumping into the fire together and now in the foxhole. It’s exciting stuff.”
He joined the organization as part of the December 2024 trade that sent pitcher Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox. The 2024 first-round pick’s professional career was delayed by a broken right ankle suffered in the NCAA Super Regional with Texas A&M.
White Sox outfield prospect Braden Montgomery takes live batting practice during spring training at Camelback Ranch on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Montgomery, 22, made up for the missed time, compiling a combined .270/.360/.444 slash line with 34 doubles, 12 home runs and 68 RBIs in 121 games during 2025 for Class A Kannapolis, High A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham.
“It’s a hard game,” he said. “The lead-up to the game is almost more important than what you do in the game, because your preparation is what’s going to come out once the lights come on you’ve got to put up or shut up.”
Montgomery’s season was cut short because of a small fracture in his right foot. But he did all he could to support his teammates as Birmingham won the Southern League title.
“I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed winning,” Montgomery said. “Throughout high school and college, I’ve been blessed enough to be a part of really great teams. Winning is now a part of me, it’s one of my biggest goals and one of the things I’m trying to do the most whenever we step on the field. That’s always going to be the main thing.”
Montgomery returned from the injury to play 12 games for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League, going 15-for-41 (.366) with one home run and 11 RBIs. Infielder Sam Antonacci and pitcher Hagen Smith were among the other Sox prospects on the team.
“I was super glad to be able to play some games after missing that last playoff run in Double A,” Montgomery said. “It was a really good group of guys, I enjoyed being back out here. And the White Sox guys represented really well.
“We had a great time. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The best part was the outside of baseball stuff and being able to create some more bonds throughout baseball and have some more friends across all the different organizations, so it was a really cool experience.”
This spring, Montgomery is continuing to iron out the details of his game as he works his way through the Sox system.
“Just like every hitter is different, every pitcher is going to attack those hitters a little differently because I’m not going to be the same hitter as (teammates) William Bergolla (Jr.) or that Sam Antonacci is, so I’m probably not going to see the exact same stuff,” Montgomery said. “So I want to do a better job of learning what that will mean for me, what that will mean for how guys are going to attack me 0-0 or 0-2 or after a pitch that I chase on or certain things like that.
“There’s always different details I can figure out and try to understand. I just want to continue taking steps forward in that.”