Colson Montgomery

Montgomery drew praise from scouts last summer thanks to a strong lefthanded swing that was regularly cited as one of the most pure and smooth swings in the class. A 6-foot-4, 190-pound shortstop, Montgomery is also a standout high school basketball player who uses his left hand on the court but throws righthanded on the baseball field. Scouts have lauded his athleticism even though he’s not a great runner, but his impressive reactions and average arm strength should give him a shot to handle third base at the next level. He has the frame, bat speed and swing to grow into more than enough power to profile at a corner position, with some scouts thinking he has plus raw power now and could grow into more at his physical peak. He has strength in his swing now and looks like the sort of hitter who will be a consistent home run threat, but there’s some length in the swing and his longer levers could create swing-and-miss issues as well. Those swing-and-miss issues surfaced at last summer’s East Coast Pro, leading many scouts to think he’ll be a power-over-hit sort of bat. Montgomery is older for the class and turned 19 in February, so he’ll be draft-eligible in his second year at Indiana if he makes it to campus. While teams who prioritize age might be more skeptical, there are some clubs who are fully in on Montgomery’s bat, and he has a chance to come off the board late in the first round or soon after.