CHICAGO –– Colson Montgomery knew it right away.

As he connected with an 89.8 mph cutter at the bottom of the strike zone from Cleveland Guardians’ starter Slade Cecconi, the White Sox rookie subtly flipped his bat and trotted around the bases. Montgomery’s solo home run flew all the way to the right field concourse and gave the White Sox a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

It also made some history.

Montgomery’s 452-foot home run marked the longest home run at Rate Field in 2025 and the longest at the White Sox stadium since Luis Robert Jr.’s 470-foot blast on June 29, 2024 against the Rockies. Montgomery now owns the second-longest home run of the 2025 White Sox season, only behind Michael A. Taylor’s 464-foot home run in Colorado.

Montgomery has displayed impressive power in his rookie season. Though he did not hit a home run in his first 14 games, he’s hit nine in the last 17 games. Since hitting his first home run on July 22 in Tampa, his nine home runs are tied for the MLB lead with Kyle Schwarber, Julio Rodriguez and Shea Langeliers.

The White Sox selected Montgomery in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and he was the organization’s top prospect from 2022-24. He struggled in Triple-A to begin the season, so the team sent him to Arizona to make some adjustments. That seems to have worked wonders, as Montgomery has excelled since being called up to the major leagues.

“Once you’re knocking on the door and trying to get over the hump and break into the major leagues, there’s an added element of stress that comes with that,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz said. “I do believe that him coming up here has freed him up and allowed him to be the player we knew he could be.”

“And I guess you’ve got to give some credit to the torpedo bat, considering how often that’s been getting attention throughout the league. It looks like he’s a beneficiary of it, as well. Colson’s done a really nice job on the defensive side, both at shortstop and third base. He hasn’t played a ton of third. He looks very comfortable over there. In the box, he’s a threat at the plate, he’s looking to do damage. It’s really exciting for the organization, and I’m sure Colson is just as excited to be able to be a productive major league player.”