The outfielder has a high ceiling, but has been plagued with injuries in his short career so far
16. Benny Montgomery (398 points, 26 ballots)
Montgomery, as evaluated by scouts before he was drafted, possessed three plus tools (run, arm, field) with above-average power and athleticism that would keep the righty in center field defensively. The 6’5”, 230-pound 22-year-old gave scouts pause at draft time with a big hitch in his swing that the Rockies are trying to clean up. Still, the rest of the profile led the Rockies to give Montgomery a slightly under-slot $5 million bonus as the eighth-overall pick of the 2021 draft.
After an injury-marred 2022 where he played just 64 games, Montgomery was assigned to High-A Spokane for 2023 (where he over two years younger than average). He stayed relatively healthy, playing 109 games and hitting .251/.336/.370 in 497 PA with 10 homers among his 30 extra-base hits and 18 steals (95 wRC+). A late-July outfield collision caused a knee injury that likely contributed to Montgomery’s flagging second-half production (.530 OPS in August, .632 in September).
Montgomery’s overall 27% K-rate (vs. 11% BB) was also worrisome, but I choose instead to accentuate the fact that he was about average offensively as one of the youngest players in the league while playing mostly center field (three errors in 85 defensive games).
The Rockies then sent Montgomery to the Arizona Fall League, where he impressed offensively, hitting .333/.436/.500 with three homers in 94 PA. In Thomas Harding’s AFL profile on Montgomery from October 2023, Rockies minor league hitting coordinator Nic Wilson described the focus for Montgomery to elevate the ball more by improving the timing of his mechanics to leverage the increased strength he’s built as a pro.
In 2024, Montgomery was assigned to Double-A Hartford, where he was 2.6 years younger than league average. He was off to a hot start, hitting .283/.313/.500 with two homers and three steals (good for a 125 wRC+) in his first 48 plate appearances (albeit with 20 strikeouts). Unfortunately, Montgomery sustained a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery while diving for a ball just 11 games into his season.
Montgomery returned to action in October in the Puerto Rico winter league, where he is over six years younger than average. In 79 PA with Ponce, Montgomery had a .254/.329/.324 line with four extra-base-hits and three steals. In the linked article above by Thomas Harding, Montgomery and Rockies player development staff discussed his swing’s evolution and his growth as a player.
Here’s some video of Montgomery in the 2023 AFL, including some slo-mo looks at the swing in the last couple minutes:
John Trupin of Baseball Prospectus ranked Montgomery 19th in their recent system ranking:
It’s frankly impressive to still have as little certainty on Montgomery as we do, entering his fifth year as a professional. Montgomery has gotten good results as a pro, with a .310/.385/.494 line in 2022 and a hot week and a half to start Double-A at just age 21. Of course, Montgomery ran BABIPs over .400 both years, and saw his season swiftly cut short this year by surgery on his left shoulder. The unorthodox mechanics Montgomery employs at the dish did not deter Colorado, with a load that seems to require powering a hand-crank radio before it can begin, but few players get better results when they make contact than Montgomery. He’ll be just 22 when he returns from surgery to Hartford, hoping to whiff less than 40% of the time so his brilliant tools can shine.
Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs ranked Montgomery as a 35+ FV player who is 33rd in the org, highlighted by 60 grades on speed and raw power:
Montgomery went to Puerto Rico for winter ball after the season, and though he had clearly spent a lot of his rehab in the weight room, his swing is still noisy and odd. Montgomery’s added mass hasn’t cost him much speed, but he’s still a tentative and clumsy defender in center field. Missing 2024 reps because of his injury really stings. Rust accumulates with months off, and Montgomery is returning from a severe injury he suffered while playing defense; it’s fair to give him time to get comfortable out there. Still, even if he does, I fear it will be rendered moot by the lack of functionality in Benny’s swing. He’s a 64% contact rate guy combined in 2023 and 2024 (Cactus League, Clemente League, scraps from Hartford), which is a pretty scary number. Because he’s so young and physically impressive, and plays hard, Montgomery is still a prospect, but it doesn’t appear he’s going to actualize his tools into real production without a swing overhaul.
Montgomery was ranked 16th during the 2024 season as a 45 FV player by MLB.com:
Montgomery has already done a lot of maturing, both physically and mentally. He’s put his Draft status in the rearview mirror and now has a firmer understanding of what he needs to do to be successful. He showed up to Spring Training with about 20 pounds of good weight added. That should lead to even more power, though his unorthodox mechanics at the plate still lead some to worry about him making enough contact to get to it. His strikeout rate hovered around 27 percent for the second straight year, but his walk rate did tick upward to help offset that and he’s shown tremendous raw power to all fields.
Montgomery’s speed plays on both sides of the ball and the added strength could make him even more explosive. There’s no question he can play center field with plenty of arm, but he’ll get reps in all three outfield spots to keep options open. There’s so much potential to unlock here, and if Montgomery can continue to work on being just a little more efficient, he could be a dynamic everyday guy in the big leagues.
That evaluation is headlined by a 70 speed grade but Montgomery also gets 60 grades on his arm and fielding ability as well as a 55 for power.
Keith Law of the Athletic ranked Montgomery 8th in the system in February 2024:
Montgomery’s as toolsy as anyone in the system, a fast-twitch guy with speed and enough hand strength to drive the ball the other way, but his approach at the plate still has too many holes to see him hitting major-league pitching consistently. He’s always had a hitch in his swing, leaving him vulnerable to fastballs up and in, and he still has trouble with breaking stuff moving away from him. He is using the whole field more now than he has in the past, with hard contact to all fields when he does get the bat to the ball. He struck out 27 percent of the time in High A last year as a 20-year-old, however, and that makes it seem unlikely he’s going to get to everyday status, even with his doubles power and potential for above-average defense in center.
Montgomery possesses a high ceiling, can stick in center field, and will be 22 for the 2025 season. His Rule 5 eligibility looms at the end of the season, so it seems likely Montgomery will begin back in Hartford to knock off rust and move up to Triple-A Albuquerque around mid-season, with a MLB assignment not out of the question. The issue of course is that the Rockies have a mob of outfield prospects in the upper minors (like fellow PuRPs Zac Veen, Yanquiel Fernandez, Sterlin Thompson, and Greg Jones) who Montgomery will need to outshine, plus post-prospect players (Jordan Beck, Hunter Goodman, and Sean Bouchard) who already don’t have a steady big league role.
I think Montgomery could be a pleasant surprise in 2025 if he’s healthy, though he still does need reps against upper minors pitching. I’m enough of a believer in the ceiling to rank Montgomery 14th on my list in the 40+ FV tier, acknowledging both his potential and the risk relating from the path he has to MLB generally and his contact ability specifically.