There are MLB records you dream about breaking. Then there’s the one Colson Montgomery claimed. The Chicago White Sox infielder now stands alone as the MLB’s single-season strikeout king, passing Mark Reynolds’ 2009 record of 223 with 227 strikeouts in 638 plate appearances.
Despite modest expectations surrounding the White Sox entering the season, Montgomery has been a major reason they are heading to the Wild Card round. Chicago’s offense ranked first in the American League and second in MLB with 776 runs scored, and Montgomery was one of its biggest contributors. He ranked second on the team with 87 RBIs and fifth with 71 runs scored, accounting for over 15% of Chicago’s offense.
Most of that damage was done via the long ball. The White Sox ranked fifth in the MLB with 211 homers, and Montgomery accounts for 31 of them, the third most on the team behind only Munetaka Murakami and Miguel Vargas.
Yet for all the damage he did at the plate, Montgomery finished the regular season with a modest .685 OPS. Among the 1,408 players in MLB history to hit at least 30 home runs in a season, Montgomery’s 2026 campaign ranks 1,407th in OPS, with only one season posting a lower mark.
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The culprit was a brutal second half for Montgomery. After posting the fifth-highest WAR among shortstops through his first 31 games, Montgomery hit just .163/.253/.304 with eight home runs, 34 RBIs and 106 strikeouts over his final 62 games. His struggles reached a boiling point in September, when he slashed .099/.215/.210 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and 42 strikeouts in the final month of the season.
The lack of production from one of the team’s biggest impact bats played a role in the White Sox coughing up their division lead and ultimately finishing just one game short of the No. 2 seed in the American League and a first-round bye.
Of course, it’s unfair to put the blame solely on Montgomery’s shoulders. While he became a liability at the plate down the stretch, he remained one of the team’s most valuable defenders at shortstop. His Fielding Run Value ranked in MLB’s 93rd percentile, while his 13 Outs Above Average ranked in the top 3% of the league.
Now, on the eve of the White Sox’s first postseason game since 2021, Montgomery has a chance to reset. If Chicago hopes to make a deep October run, it will need Montgomery to rediscover the bat that made him one of the team’s most important offensive pieces earlier in the season.
Plenty of power hitters have swing-and-miss issues. In an era when pitchers are throwing harder than ever and teams can turn to bullpens filled with specialized weapons, a high strikeout rate comes with the territory.
But there’s an important distinction between Montgomery and most of the hitters who fit that mold. The players who have struck out at a rate comparable to Montgomery have typically been true three-outcome hitters, capable of offsetting their strikeouts by getting on base.
Before Montgomery’s record-setting strikeout season, the five highest single-season strikeout totals in MLB history were:
- 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 finished the season with a .197 average, .282 OBP and a 35.6% strikeout rate, the highest in the MLB.
While those struggles became even more pronounced over the final month of the season, the underlying issues followed Montgomery throughout the year. He walked in just 8% of his plate appearances, largely because of his inability to lay off pitches outside the strike zone. His chase rate and in-zone contact rate both ranked well below league average, limiting his ability to work deep into counts. He also routinely put himself in unfavorable counts with a first-pitch swing rate 14% higher than the MLB 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 adjusted to Montgomery, he struggled to counter those adjustments. 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 that he simply doesn’t make enough contact in the first place.
That became especially costly in high-leverage situations, where Montgomery struggled to turn his raw power into production. With runners in scoring position, he hit just .169 while striking out 77 times, making it difficult for the White Sox to consistently rely on him in their biggest offensive moments.
But none of that will matter if Montgomery can flip the script in October. One strong postseason could quickly change the conversation surrounding his season.
The longer-term question is where Montgomery fits into the White Sox’s plans. It’s rare to find a shortstop who can provide Gold Glove-caliber defense while also hitting 30-plus home runs. But Chicago has a crowded infield picture developing behind him.
Roch Cholowsky and Caleb Bonemer are waiting in the wings, while Sam Antonacci doesn’t appear to be a long-term fit in left field. Chase Meidroth has looked like the real deal at second base, and Miguel Vargas has developed into one of the game’s best third basemen. That leaves Chicago with a deep group of infielders and only so many spots to fill.
Herb Brooks famously said, “Great moments are born from great opportunity.” Montgomery has one in front of him this week, a chance to remind everyone why the White Sox once viewed him as a cornerstone of the franchise.
