Colson Montgomery was pretty happy with how the Arizona Fall League went for him , all 11 games of it. Montgomery dominated in his second go-around Glendale , hitting. Two great weeks is always encouraging, but after a year full of concerns over his approach and mechanics, it represented to the year-old prospect what he was capable of doing with a clear head.
I waver more than I should on Colson. Even though he was awful last year, he was 22 in AAA. A number of highly touted college prospects are in A or AA at 22 and even He has to improve this year, whether he breaks camp with the Sox, which is a mistake imo, or heads back to the minors.
I think he can do it, though, and put all those concerns about his back and bat speed behind him. After , the Corey Seager comps should stop. If he struggles, you can always send him back. I put very little stock in ST numbers. Pitchers are ramping up after injuries or trying out new pitches and mechanics. And many teams are just seeing what they have in reclamation projects or young guys with no real shot of making the team.
The last two weeks of ST may be somewhat instructive, but guys are either not giving it their all or going for only a few innings before being replaced.
I would also be attentive to how he performs against certain pitchers. I think we need to pay close attention to how he handles velocity in particular. But I will add that him struggling against velocity is potentially another reason to promote him. And his only shot of improving against velocity is to actually see it.
