While Braden Montgomery is still building his sample size in Statcast parks after his promotion to Triple-A earlier this week, we have a little more information to work with regarding his Double-A contact thanks to Baseball America.
Montgomery made Geoff Pontes' roundup of 12 MLB prospects posting impressive 90th percentile exit velocities early on, with all of the information coming from Birmingham. He has the second highest 90th percentile EV at 108.6 mph, albeit with a 24 percent in-zone whiff rate.
The switch-hitting Montgomery is one of the premier power prospects in the minors at the moment. He hit .313/.429/.606 with six home runs over the first 27 games of 2026. His exit velocity data is impressive and even more so when you factor in his switch-hitting. Montgomery’s quality of contact is high from both sides of the plate, making power his carrying tool.
Montgomery’s in-zone whiff rate is slightly higher than you’d like to see, though. For a power hitter with this level of quality of contact, you’re typically going to see some level of whiffs, but getting below 20% would likely unlock another gear for Montgomery. The whiff numbers are better against righthanded pitching, leading to fewer platoon concerns, as he’s better vs. the strong side.
Jacksonville 6, Charlotte 5
- Rikuu Nishida walked once and struck out thrice.
- Ryan Galanie pinch-hit for him and grounded out.
- Braden Montgomery singled twice and struck out thrice.
- Jacob Gonzalez was 0-for-3 with a walk.
- Hagen Smith: 4 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP, 45 of 69 pitches for strikes.
Notes:
*Smith maintained his velocity better, for what it's worth.
Tennessee 4, Birmingham 3
- Samuel Zavala went 1-for-3 with a walk, strikeout and CS.
- Connor McCullough: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 39 of 66 pitches for strikes.
Hudson Valley 8, Winston-Salem 1
- Caleb Bonemer doubled and struck out thrice.
- Colby Shelton was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Anthony DePino, 0-for-3.
- Boston Smith went 0-for-2 with a walk.
- Kyle Lodise struck out all three times.
- George Wolkow was 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
Columbia 5, Kannapolis 2
- Abraham Nunez and Jaden Fauske both were 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Billy Carlson was 1-for-4.
- Javier Mogollon homered, doubled and struck out twice.
- Matthew Boughton went 0-for-4.
- Truman Pauley: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 WP, 45 of 75 pitches for strikes.
ACL Rangers 6, ACL White Sox 5
- Alejandro Cruz went 1-for-4 with a double, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- Alexander Albertus was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Jose Mendoza made his stateside debut with a grand slam, finishing 1-for-3.
- Yordani Soto struck out all three trips.
- Derek Cerda was 0-for-3.
- Mathias LaCombe is active: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
