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GLENDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 17: Braden Montgomery #91 of the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch on February 17, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images)
The Chicago White Sox have promoted one of their top prospects, Braden Montgomery, for his MLB debut. Montgomery will make his first start, batting sixth and playing right field, against the Atlanta Braves at Rate Field.
White Sox lineup 6/9 vs Braves
1. Sam Antonacci- LF 2. Miguel Vargas- 3B 3. Andrew Benintendi- DH 4. Jacob Gonzalez- 1B 5. Chase Meidroth- 2B 6. Braden Montgomery- RF 7. Tristan Peters- CF 8. Luisangel Acuna- SS 9. Drew Romo- C
SP: LHP Brandon Eisert
“We’re not going to call him up here and sit him on the bench,” White Sox manager Will Venable told Sox Machine’s James Fegan. “It’s fair to say that he’s been more productive over his career from the left side of the plate, but he’s more than adequate on the right side as well. So I think we do view him as an everyday guy. If there’s times because of a certain matchup that we want to get him a day, just like every other guy, we’ll do it.”
Montgomery, 23, becomes the third White Sox hitter in the Garrett Crochet trade to reach the big leagues. He follows infielder Chase Meidroth and catcher Kyle Teel, who both debuted last season. The former first-rounder has the highest ceiling of the three players, with five-tool upside.
Montgomery will wear the number 24 for his MLB debut, according to the club’s 40-man roster page.
The White Sox continue a youth movement, especially in their starting lineup. Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, Sam Antonacci, Miguel Vargas, and Munetaka Murakami are all in their Age 26 season or younger. Braden Montgomery now joins that list of players.
He’ll also join Antonacci and Murakami as White Sox hitters to make their MLB debuts this year. Chicago also has four other prospects on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list. Left-hander Noah Schultz is the other White Sox on that list to appear in the majors this season. He is currently in Triple-A Charlotte, along with 2024 top pick Hagen Smith.
The youth movement has produced strong results across the board. Chicago enters play on June 9 with a 107 wRC+, which ranks seventh in MLB. They’ve also scored the seventh-most runs this season at 4.77.
The strong offense has helped the White Sox in terms of wins and losses. Chicago is 34-31 and currently holding the second Wild Card spot. FanGraphs isn’t necessarily bullish on the White Sox staying in the postseason picture, with an 18.5% chance of qualifying for October baseball. But that could change if Chicago continues to win with their young core.
Braden Montgomery is now the White Sox’s everyday right fielder. The club optioned Rikuu Nishida to Triple-A and transferred Austin Hays to the 60-day injured list to make room. Chicago had been operating with a platoon of Nishida and Randal Grichuk.
Another player in the outfield who bears watching is center fielder Tristan Peters. The former Brewers, Giants, and Rays prospect has taken off in 2026. He’s currently slashing .307/.365/.468 with two home runs and a 129 wRC+ over 62 games.
Peters’ underlying metrics paint a possible regression candidate. The expected metrics don’t think his production is sustainable based on his quality of contact. He has a .250 xBA, .357 xSLG, and .299 xwOBA. He has a 4.5% barrel rate and a 26.1% hard-hit rate, which rank in the 20th and fifth percentiles respectively.
Even if Peters regresses hard offensively, Montgomery’s addition to the lineup should alleviate that potential issue.
Michael McDermott Michael McDermott covers MLB for Heavy Sports. He's previously published content for SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, and FanSided in 11 seasons. Covered the Arizona Diamondbacks as an on-site reporter for the 2022-2024 seasons and the Arizona Fall League for 2022-2025. More about Michael McDermott
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