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Colson Montgomery called up to make his White Sox debut in Denver — ‘a cool full-circle moment’

DENVER — Colson Montgomery was initially caught off guard.

“I was in the cage hitting (with Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday), and one of our coaches told me to go into the manager’s office,” Montgomery said Friday afternoon. “I was confused why because there were 25 minutes before the game.

“I had my bat and coffee, and I was kind of mad he called me in there because I was trying to get in the zone of playing.”

The shortstop was told to take a seat.

“When (Knights manager Sergio Santos) said that, I kind of had a good feeling that I was getting the call up,” Montgomery said.

The Chicago White Sox promoted their 2021 first-round pick to the majors Friday. He made his big-league debut in the series opener against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, batting seventh and playing short.

“The support group with the White Sox and all those guys, the belief they had in me kept me going,” Montgomery said. “I can’t thank them enough. It’s definitely a dream come true. I was emotional when I called my dad; we were both crying together.”

Montgomery, 23, turned a productive June into his first major-league opportunity. He was slashing .218/.298/.435 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs in 55 games with Charlotte, and he hit .281 with six homers and 16 RBIs in 16 June games.

“Excited about Colson being here,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “He’s in a good spot. He’s had a great couple of weeks, especially since he went to Arizona and made his adjustments — he’s been performing very well and hitting the ball extremely hard.”

In his last game for the Knights, Montgomery came through with the winning hit in the ninth inning Wednesday for a 4-3 victory against Jacksonville.

“The biggest thing was we put together a plan and we went to execute that plan in the game,” Montgomery said of the recent success. “We didn’t try to do too much. I was playing carefree.”

The Sox selected Montgomery with the No. 22 pick in the 2021 draft out of Southridge High School in southern Indiana. He has a .246/.364/.414 career slash line with 69 doubles, 48 home runs and 186 RBIs in 376 games during portions of five seasons in the Sox system.

“For a guy who’s working extremely hard, he’s had some adversity he had to go through in the minor leagues, which I think is going to serve him well,” Venable said. “He fought through that, got himself to a really good spot and forced his way to the big-league roster.”

MLB.com ranks Montgomery as the No. 5 prospect in the Sox organization and the No. 95 prospect in all of baseball.

After a slow start to the 2025 season, Montgomery spent close to two weeks at the Sox’s Arizona complex to make adjustments at the plate.

“I learned a lot more mentally than just physically, just because it was a grind,” Montgomery said. “You see all your boys out there playing — I was happy as heck for all of them — but you get a little bit of FOMO because you want to be there with all the guys.

“I had to put pride and ego aside to get as much as I could out of that experience.”

During a Monday video conference in which he provided updates on several minor-leaguers, Sox director of player development Paul Janish praised Montgomery’s consistency.

“Colson is in a good place,” Janish said. “He expects success right now, which is exciting.”

Now Montgomery will get the chance to showcase that progress in the majors. Chase Meidroth, who had been the regular shortstop, shifted to second base Friday.

“Last night I was excited because I wanted to get here and get with the guys and start hitting, fielding and talking to everybody,” Montgomery said.

He anticipated having about 15 to 20 friends and family in attendance.

“I just thank everybody back home that’s stuck with me,” he said. “And my parents, my family. Couldn’t have done it without them.”

His major-league career began in a city that already had special memories.

“What’s kind of funny is this is where I got drafted,” Montgomery said. “I came to the in-person draft in Denver (and watched) the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game. And now I get to make my debut here. It’s kind of a cool full-circle moment.”

The Sox made two other roster moves Friday, designating infielder Vinny Capra for assignment and returning pitcher Fraser Ellard (left lat strain) from his injury rehabilitation assignment at Charlotte. Ellard was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Charlotte.