With all due respect to Chase Meidroth, whose promotion to the White Sox on Friday was the culmination of his own prospect journey, it also inadvertently served as a reminder that Colson Montgomery isn't remotely in the call-up conversation. Through his first 10 games in Charlotte, Montgomery is 3-for-37 with three walks and 21 strikeouts, which is good for a 50 percent strikeout rate.
In his pregame media session, Chris Getz said that he checked in with Montgomery, and he tried to buoy spirits. Whether it worked is for you to judge, and then the following games to determine.
“I've touched base with Colson, actually. And when I'm watching the games, when you watch him move, you watch his defensive play, his baserunning, even his at-bats right now, he's still the best player on the field. Now, he has not been productive. He's going through it right now. He really is. But I know that he's determined, he's not going to give up, that's not in his character. He's making adjustments and sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. And that’s a challenging part about this game. He's down in Triple-A, he's working. Personally, I don't care if he strikes out the next 20 at-bats. I know he's going to figure it out. He just has to stay the course and make the right adjustment. Because it's going to click. I believe in that. He believes in that, as well. And it's just a matter of time. So we're supporting him. We still think the world of him. He’s part of our plans moving forward. We haven't lost sight of him and we haven't lost faith.”
“Talking about where he's at from a confidence standpoint, just his mental state, he's still hungry. He knows he's going to find this. When you're going through a challenging moment like this as a player, it's a test. But from the beginning when we drafted him to where he is now, he's always been a guy that's never been in a rush. He really believes in himself as a baseball player, as an athlete. That really hasn't changed whether it be Colson and how he feels about himself or how we feel about Colson."
Birmingham 4, Chattanooga 1 (11 innings)
- William Bergolla went 0-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
- Jacob Gonzalez was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- DJ Gladney, 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Wilfred Veras tripled, singled twice, walked, struck out and stole a base.
- Rikuu Nishida stole a base and singled after entering the game as a pinch runner.
- Grant Taylor's Double-A debut: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 26 of 44 pitches for strikes.
- Tyler Schweitzer as Bulk Boy: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 47 of 68 pitches for strikes.
