The one thing keeping Montgomery’s profile from feeling fully settled is the swing-and-miss.
That does not erase what he has already done. It is part of why the next step is so clear. Montgomery finished April with a strikeout rate near 30 percent, and his whiff rate still sits near the bottom of the league. The expected numbers also trail the surface production; he has a .219 xBA and .337 xwOBA compared to the louder results in the box score.
Montgomery’s power is real, but the contact quality is still uneven enough to leave room for volatility. When he gets the ball in the air, the potential for damage is obvious. When pitchers get him to expand or beat him in the zone, the at-bats can end quickly.
The encouraging part is that this does not require a total offensive rebuild. Montgomery has already lowered his chase rate from last season and has been more selective about when he wants to do damage. The issue is more about making enough contact inside the zone to let the rest of the profile breathe.
That is why even a small improvement could change his ceiling. Montgomery does not need to turn into a high-contact hitter to become one of the more valuable shortstops in the league. He just needs to move the strikeout rate closer to the high-20s, keep taking his walks and give the power more chances to show up.
Montgomery’s splits point to where the next step can come from. He has produced a 186 wRC+ against left-handed pitching, while the production against right-handed pitching has been more modest overall (108 wRC+).
However, the power has not been limited by platoon. He has four home runs against lefties and four against righties, which is an important distinction. Left-handed pitchers may still be figuring out how to shape an attack plan around his bat path and avoid his damage zones, but Montgomery has shown he can impact the game regardless of matchup.
So, the next step is about raising the baseline against righties. If the average and on-base skills improve in those matchups, Montgomery becomes much harder to navigate.
Lineup context may also factor into this early split. Against left-handed starters, Montgomery has often hit lower in the order, adding power deeper in the lineup and balancing the Murakami-Vargas core.
This could become one of Will Venable’s more interesting challenges as the roster gets healthier. When Kyle Teel returns, the question will not just be who plays. It will be how Venable structures a lineup with multiple left-handed bats capable of changing a game with one swing.
For now, the strikeouts are the tradeoff that comes with the power. The White Sox can live with that as long as Montgomery keeps hitting the ball out of the park and defending shortstop. But if the contact rate takes even a small step forward, he won’t just be an exciting young power bat. He could be one of the better all-around players at the position.
