Under the Radar: The Other White Sox Player on a Power Binge

If I asked you to name the 10 players with at least 13 home runs heading into Monday night’s games, could you do it? You would likely get the All-Star sluggers Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, and Yordan Alvarez. There’s a good chance you have heard about the old vets having great seasons like Matt Olson and Byron Buxton. Then there are the breakout players such as Ben Rice, Drake Baldwin, and Jordan Walker. You would likely come up with the Chicago White Sox player who came from Japan and has been launching home runs: Munetaka Murakami.

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Colson Montgomery: Under the Radar

But I’m willing to bet it would take you a long time to come up with the 10th player. It’s ANOTHER Chicago White Sox player who has gone completely under the radar this season. Chicago White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery.

The former first-round pick entered the season with questions surrounding his contact ability and strikeout rate, but he has always had a great quality of contact.  In fantasy baseball, identifying players whose under-the-hood stats can predict their power is one of the best ways to gain an advantage, and Montgomery’s power is the perfect example so far in 2026.

Elite Barrel Rates

One of the biggest reasons Montgomery looks like a great fantasy power source is his elite barrel rate. Entering 2026, he has posted a barrel rate of 14.5% in 2025, according to Statcast. In 2026, it’s up to 15.5%, one of the top 25 rates in the league. Barrel rate is one of the strongest predictive measurements for present and future home runs because it measures how often a hitter combines an ideal launch angle with strong exit velocity.

Since getting called up to MLB on July 4th last year, this is what Colson Montgomery has done:

.239/.321/.527
472 PA, 34 HR, 132 wRC+

His 34 HR during this stretch ranks 5th in MLB, behind only Kyle Schwarber, Aaron Judge, Junior Caminero, and Cal Raleigh.

— Frank Ammirante (@FAmmiranteTFJ) May 18, 2026

His average exit velocity is about 90 mph, while his hard-hit rate has pushed above 40 percent for two straight years. Those are significant numbers for a 24-year-old hitter who is still adjusting to major league pitching. Montgomery already possesses the underlying power skills necessary for a major jump in power, and he hasn’t even reached his prime yet.

A .268 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) has kept Montgomery’s batting average only at around .238 this year, but even if the batting average remains inconsistent, the power foundation is already strong enough to make him relevant in all mixed leagues.

Improved Swing Helps Power Potential

Montgomery’s improved swing this season is another major reason to believe in the power breakout. Statcast tells us he has significantly improved his launch angle in 2026, with an average launch angle around 21 degrees and a sweet-spot percentage nearing 38%. That is the exact type of batted-ball improvement fantasy managers want from a power hitter.

It has led to a very high whiff rate and high strikeout rate, but his bat speed is around 77 miles per hour, an elite number, and he is achieving elite bat speed on about two-thirds of his swings this season. In many ways, Colson Montgomery has become a sort of model of the modern power hitter. He has high strikeouts, good barrel rate, great launch angle and swing speed, and some good old-fashioned pure strength that can get the ball out in any park

Room For More in the Second Half

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Montgomery’s fantasy season is that his current production may not show what all he could do for the rest of 2026. He is just 24 years old with less than a year and a half of MLB playing time.  There is still growth happening, and some luck that could turn his way. That creates the possibility of a second-half surge once things begin to stabilize this year.

Most home runs first 103 games in White Sox history:

Jose Abreu, 31 (2014)
Colson Montgomery, 30 (2025-26)
Eloy Jimenez, 24 (2019)
Zeke Bonura, 23 (1934)
Josh Fields, 23 (2006-07)

— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) May 2, 2026

As shown by the BABIP, there is also reason to believe his counting stats could improve. If the batting average goes up, the rest of his fantasy stats (home runs, runs, RBIs) presumably go up as well. If he settles into a consistent middle-of-the-order role for Chicago, the RBI and run totals could jump quickly. Montomgery has hit third or fourth in the lineup in every game since April 29th and has sat out once since April 16. That’s incredibly valuable in fantasy baseball.

Also benefiting him are the players hitting in front of him. Over the whole fantasy season, Murakami and Miguel Vargas have both been top 15 fantasy assets. Now that rookie Sam Antonacci is up and hitting leadoff, the table is often set up for run production for Montgomery.

Fantasy managers sometimes focus exclusively on batting average when evaluating breakout candidates, but players who can contribute 25-plus home runs with improving run production become extremely valuable across all formats.

For the remainder of 2026, Montgomery is exactly the type of player worth targeting in a trade or other move before the market fully catches up and realizes what is happening with a competent White Sox offense. The combination of a 15 percent barrel rate, strong hard-hit data, strong launch angle, and raw strength gives him the statistical profile of a player of a major power contributor over the rest of the 2026 season.