There is plenty to like about Colson Montgomery on the baseball diamond. He plays elite defense, possesses some of the best bat speed in MLB, and has already launched 27 home runs while driving in 72 runs this season. But for all the tools Montgomery possesses, his approach at the plate remains a glaring weakness, one that is beginning to cost the Chicago White Sox.
Montgomery stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning Monday night, with the White Sox trailing the Texas Rangers 5-2 in what would prove to be a pivotal moment. With just one out, Montgomery didn’t need to do much. Simply putting the ball in play likely would have brought home a run, while a well-placed hit could have driven in multiple runs.
What followed instead has become an all-too-familiar sight for White Sox fans. Montgomery swung at four consecutive pitches, culminating in chasing a slider in the dirt before he walked back to the dugout without putting a ball in play. It marked his second of three strikeouts on the night, as the game ultimately spiraled into an ugly 11-2 loss for the White Sox.
Montgomery isn’t just leading MLB in strikeouts; he is rapidly approaching the wrong kind of history. With 178 punchouts through 124 games, he is just 45 strikeouts shy of Mark Reynolds’ MLB record of 223 in a single season.
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The frustrating part about Montgomery is that his left-handed power is a legitimate weapon. Accumulating 48 career home runs in just 195 games is no small feat and teams are generally willing to trade a high volume of strikeouts for that type of thump in the middle of the lineup. But there is an important distinction: most players who strike out at that rate are true three-outcome hitters, capable of offsetting the swing-and-miss by getting on base.
For context, here are the five highest single-season strikeout totals in MLB history:
- Mark Reynolds (2009): 223 strikeouts, 44 home runs, .349 OBP, .892 OPS
- Adam Dunn (2012): 222 strikeouts, 41 home runs, .333 OBP, .800 OPS
- James Wood (2025): 221 strikeouts, 31 home runs, .350 OBP, .825 OPS
- Chris Davis (2016): 219 strikeouts, 38 home runs, .332 OBP, .792 OPS
- Elly De La Cruz (2024): 218 strikeouts, 25 home runs, .339 OBP, .809 OPS
That hasn’t been the case with Montgomery, who is hitting .211 with a .289 OBP. He has also seen his OPS fall to .715, after slashing .191/.247/.325 with just seven homers and a near 40% strikeout rate in his last 227 plate appearances.
While those issues have been more pronounced over his recent 53-game slump, they have followed him all season. Montgomery’s 34% strikeout rate is the highest in MLB, while his 8% walk rate ranks in just the 36th percentile among qualified hitters. His in-zone contact rate also ranks below the league average.
Montgomery has never been one to hit for a high average and has always had a tendency to chase pitches out of the zone. But during his rookie season, he punished strikes when pitchers challenged him. Much of his production last season came when he pulled balls in the air, and his 27.2% pull rate on airborne contact ranked among the highest in baseball.
However, as pitchers have adjusted, Montgomery has yet to counter those adjustments. Not only is he expanding his strike zone far too often, but he is also starting to whiff on more pitches in the strike zone.
He still possesses one of the fastest bat speeds in MLB and generates a high barrel rate when he does make contact. The problem is, he simply doesn’t make enough of it. In high-leverage moments, Montgomery has become one of the last hitters you want at the plate, because the odds are high that he won’t put the ball in play, let alone come through with a hit.
That’s not to say that Will Venable should take him out of the lineup; his defense is far too valuable. But Montgomery’s approach at the plate needs to change. He chases far too many pitches, often expanding the zone with non-competitive swings.
As a result, rallies are too often cut short and runs are left on the board. In 142 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, Montgomery has struck out 61 times, recorded just 26 hits and posted a .584 OPS. That simply isn’t good enough for a player viewed as a cornerstone of the franchise.
