Article: Red Sox 2024 Offseason Top Prospects: #5, Braden Montgomery

[Brian Ziller]

Did the Red Sox do it again? It’s quite possible that they snagged one of the draft’s top talents in June by landing switching-hitting Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery.

The selection follows a string of successes in which the Red Sox selected Kyle Teel (14th overall) and Kristian Campbell (132nd overall) in 2023, Roman Anthony (79th overall) in 2022, and Marcelo Mayer (4th overall) in 2021. Despite suffering a season-ending ankle injury during the Aggies’ postseason run, Montgomery was projected to be drafted in the Top 10 by MLB.com, Baseball America, The Athletic, ESPN, and Fangraphs. He slid to the Red Sox at 12.

#5 RF Braden Montgomery

What to Like:
Montgomery started his college career at Stanford, playing two full seasons before transferring to Texas A&M in his junior year. He discovered his plus-plus power there, belting 27 home runs and driving in 85 runs in 61 games. That power was on display against Georgia in April when Montgomery blasted a mammoth grand slam to dead center. His final stat line in his final season was .322/.454/.733/1.187.

Year	Team	G	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2022	Stanford	62	50	18	57	6	.294	.361	.596	.957
2023	Stanford	64	70	17	61	6	.336	.461	.611	1.072
2024	Texas A&M	61	65	27	85	5	.322	.454	.733	1.187

Montgomery primarily played right field throughout college. That is projected to be the case in his first taste of professional ball. Once a two-way player who threw 97 MPH from the mound, MLB Pipeline has a 70 grade on Montgomery’s arm.

What to Work On:
Projected as a switch-hitting power bat, there are concerns about his viability from the right side of the plate, given his platoon split, according to SoxProspects. 

MLB Pipeline’s scouting profile states that although Montgomery has improved his plate discipline and ability to handle breaking pitches, “he still swings and misses at pitches in the zone a bit too often and will chase non-fastballs.”

What's Next?
In August, Montgomery was assigned to the FCL to continue his rehab. He is expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 season, where he projects to begin in High-A Greenville. He has yet to take an at-bat in his minor league journey, but his potential is indisputable. He’s current #61 on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list, joining “The Big 4” and 18-year-old Salem infielder Franklin Arias as the Red Sox prospects gracing the list.

Along with an impressive scouting report, Montgomery was humble in his post-draft interview in July when asked what he’s learned in his journey to get to this point. 

Quote

“I’ve just kind of learned how to be the person I want to be and how I want to treat people, because that’s ultimately the way people remember you. They’re not going to remember how many homers I hit or how many times I strike out.”

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[mvp 78]

I think we're all very excited for him and think he's going to be A DUDE. We just don't know what his ceiling will be. Fun to have more MiLB guys to follow at each level. I wouldn't have him start at Salem either because the pitching isn't great and the field is death to hitters. Greenville is a good test for him, but it wouldn't be really throwing him in the deep end. The other 2024 college offensive draftees appeared in Greenville at the end of last season. 

[Larry Cook]

If he cleans up the swing and miss element of his game, he will fly through the minor leagues 

[moonslav59]

Kinda too early to know much, but the upside looks really high.