Headed by Montgomery and Schultz, White Sox's farm system is trending upward
They are still closer to the bottom than the top, but the White Sox are heading in the right direction.
Multiple publications have updated their farm system rankings since the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
Acquiring prospects like catcher Edgar Quero and pitchers Jake Eder, Nick Nastrini and Ky Bush and drafting shortstop Jacob Gonzalez on the first round in July has the Sox moving up.
"Colson Montgomery and Noah Schultz give the White Sox two of the most talented prospects in the sport, and trade piece Quero helps them continue their search for their catcher of the future," Baseball America wrote. "The system also got jolts by adding lefty Eder from the Marlins and Nastrini from the Dodgers. Those two upper-level arms, plus several other deadline additions, gave the White Sox's system a much-needed boost."
Montgomery remains Baseball America's No. 1 Sox prospect and he's shot up to No. 14 overall on the Top 100 list.
The 21-year-old shortstop didn't get on the field until June 19 due to a back injury, but he's been making up for lost time.
In a combined 37 games with the Arizona Complex League White Sox, high Class A Winston-Salem and AA Birmingham, Montgomery hit .315/.512/.516 with 5 home runs and 24 RBI.
Since he missed the first half of the season, Montgomery is likely going to play in the Arizona Fall League.
No. 2 prospect Noah Schultz is another AFL candidate.
Sidelined for the first two months of the season with a forearm strain, the White Sox's 2022 first-round draft choice out of Oswego East High School has made 10 starts for low Class A Kannapolis and he's 1-2 with a 1.33 ERA.
Schultz celebrated his 20th birthday on Aug. 5. The 6-foot-9 lefty has 38 strikeouts and only 6 walks in 27 innings.
Gonzalez is also playing at Kannapolis after the Sox selected him with the No. 15 overall pick in this year's draft.
In his first 13 games, the 21-year-old University of Mississippi product hit .245/.300/.264 with 6 RBI.
Third baseman Bryan Ramos is another notable homegrown prospect and he's making a push to join the White Sox at some point next year.
Like Montgomery and Schultz, the start of Ramos' season was delayed by injury (groin).
In his first 52 games with Birmingham, Ramos slashed .272/.390/.492 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI.
Ramos is a natural third baseman but he can also play second, a position that's been difficult for the Sox to fill in recent years.