Kyle Schwarber has been baseball’s most relentless home run hitter since 2022. The Phillies slugger has 212 dingers in that stretch. But a 24-year-old on the South Side of Chicago is making that dominance look less secure than anyone expected.
Colson Montgomery hit his 20th homer of the season Thursday in a 5-1 win over the Yankees. That’s a nice stat on its own. What’s more striking is this: since Montgomery debuted last Fourth of July, he has launched 41 home runs. Only Schwarber has more in that same window with 49, according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs.
Montgomery is a shortstop and third baseman built in a familiar mold. He strikes out a lot. He walks a decent amount. He hits for serious power and not much else. Sound like anyone? Schwarber has made a career out of that exact profile, forcing front offices to rethink how they value guys who go deep and do little else. Montgomery is now doing the same thing at 24.
The White Sox infielder is already sitting at 25 homers for this season, just five behind Schwarber’s MLB-leading total. That gap is going to shrink. Or maybe Montgomery will widen it. Either way, the conversation around who the best power hitter in the game is no longer stops at Schwarber, Aaron Judge, or Shohei Ohtani.
It’s worth remembering that guys like this were once considered flawed. Low batting averages and high strikeout rates used to get you sent down or traded for a reliever. Now teams pay top dollar for that exact combination because the home run is the most efficient run-producing weapon in the sport. Montgomery is proof that the model works even for young players still figuring out big league pitching.
Schwarber is 33. Father Time comes for everyone, even left-handed sluggers who changed how baseball evaluates talent. Montgomery is six years younger and already mimicking the same swing philosophy. He isn’t waiting for Schwarber to slow down. He’s trying to out-homer him right now.
The comparisons will keep coming as this season rolls on. Every time Montgomery goes deep, someone will mention Schwarber’s name. That’s fine. The kid from Indiana (another Hoosier State product, just like Schwarber) seems to handle pressure pretty well for someone who’s been in the league for less than a year.
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