Braden Montgomery

The Red Sox snagged Montgomery with the 12th overall pick last year but he didn't debut due to a broken right ankle suffered on a play at the plate in June. He was dealt to Chicago this offseason as the second piece in a four-prospect package that sent Garrett Crochet to Boston. Montgomery was a two-way player in 2022 and 2023 with Stanford, but he largely scrapped pitching to focus on developing as a right fielder after transferring to Texas A&M for his junior season. The 6-foot-2 switch hitter has monster power to all fields and a double-plus arm in the field, so he possesses a classic right fielder profile. He slashed .322/.454/.733 with 27 home runs in his lone season in the SEC. His strikeout rates have been higher than those of most of the other top college bats in the class, but he turned in an OPS over .830 with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League in 2022 and 2023, so his track record of producing in two college conferences and the top summer circuit are big marks in his favor. Montgomery attempted only eight steals in 75 games across his junior season and final year on the Cape, and he grades as an average runner, so home runs, RBI, runs and on-base percentage are the top categories he could be a big positive in. Read Past Outlooks