Colson Montgomery’s slow-ish start not quieting White Sox’ enthusiasm: ‘He’s going to be a stud’

The White Sox’ top prospect is hitting just .211 at Triple-A Charlotte.

But it’s far from time for panic on the South Side, where Colson Montgomery could be playing later this year, beginning his starring role in the organization’s latest rebuilding project.

Montgomery headed to Charlotte out of spring training, fresh off being ranked as one of the top 10 prospects in baseball by MLB.com. But he hasn’t started with the same offensive bang that he’s displayed as a minor league hitter since being drafted by the White Sox three summers ago.

Entering play Wednesday, he was slashing .211/.324/.358 with three homers and 20 hits in 24 games. The numbers are a far cry from the .287/.456/.484 slash line and 64 hits — 25 of them for extra bases — he put up in just 64 games last season, before he dazzled in the Arizona Fall League, where he banged out 20 hits and drove in 20 runs in 20 games.

The rise to the next level of the minor leagues can certainly come with growing pains. Remember, Montgomery’s arrival in Double-A as a part of “Project Birmingham” two years ago featured unimpressive statistical results. Then he dominated the level last season.

The White Sox aren’t worried about what’s happening now that their future centerpiece is starting slowly in Charlotte.

“I think Colson’s in a good place right now,” farm director Paul Janish said Tuesday. “Obviously, he’s at Triple-A for the first time, it’s a new level. He’s had a bunch of success in the minor leagues offensively. He’s at a point right now where it’s a combination of a couple things.

“He’s only one step away from the major leagues, right? So if we’re going to ask him to play (shortstop) at the major league level, he’s got to continue to play defensively, continue to develop, even just from a physical standpoint of playing day in and day out, which he has been, to his credit. … And Colson has been very adamant about wanting to be in the lineup pretty much every single day. Those things to consider are some of the bigger parts of his development right now.

“But he’s in a good place. He got off to a relatively slow start. I think we’ve got to remember he’s really young. He’s obviously very talented. Very little concern at this point for Colson. I think he’s going to be just fine, and he’s doing what he needs to do.”

Indeed, even though the numbers are what they are, they’re only the chief focus for us on the outside. Inside the organization, the White Sox are looking at a whole host of things when it comes to Montgomery’s development. How he’s playing is more important than what he’s hitting, even if the latter is the easiest thing for us to notice miles away in Chicago.

From those who have watched him up close, Montgomery is getting the same rave reviews he did during the spring, the fall and last summer.

“Very talented player,” Danny Mendick, who played with Montgomery in Charlotte earlier this season, told CHGO on Wednesday. “Once he starts to get that confidence back and understand what he’s capable of doing, he’s going to be a really good player.

“He hits the ball so hard. It doesn’t look like he’s swinging super hard, but when he hits the ball, you look up and you’re like, ‘Wow, he hit the ball 109 (miles an hour).’ There’s so much pop there. It’s kind of cool, something that you’re excited to see.”

Considering the types of numbers he put up in the early years of his pro career, there’s probably not much fretting going on even in the famously reactionary world of baseball fans. But concerns over Montgomery’s defense are going to linger until after he arrives at the major league level. Scouting reports haven’t been overly kind, and there’s an ongoing question of whether he’ll be able to stick at shortstop once he reaches the bigs or if he’ll have to be moved to a different position.

Montgomery has expressed nothing but confidence that he’ll be able to master the position, and it doesn’t sound like his opinion has changed after a month at Triple-A.

“He hasn’t blinked on that,” Janish said. “I don’t think there’s any question in his mind he’s going to play short at the major league level. To his credit, he’s a competitive kid. We know the background, with the high school basketball and all that stuff. He’s a quiet competitor. He might not be as vocal, as outwardly as some guys are, but he’s competitive, for sure.

“Internally, he really wants to play shortstop at the major league level, and he’s going to get every opportunity to do that.”

The development is obviously ongoing, whether in regards to Montgomery’s need to figure out Triple-A pitching or the larger questions about his defense.

But even though there’s still a waiting game to play before folks get to see Montgomery on the South Side, there’s no shortage of enthusiasm over the kind of player he’ll one day become.

“As he continues to learn and stuff like that, it’s going to be great for him,” Mendick said. “He’s going to make mistakes, and he’s going to learn from those mistakes. But he’s very talented.

“There’s just so much talent there, it’s exciting. It’s got to be exciting for the organization because he’s going to be a stud.”