The 2025 White Sox closed with a rough tally, but a bright youth wave took shape. Colson Montgomery’s 21 homers in 70 games and a 3.3 WAR signal a franchise cornerstone, while Kyle Teel’s June debut added 2.0 WAR and a promising catcher of the present. Rule 5 rookie Shane Smith and steady arms like Davis Martin and Jonathan Cannon supplied hope for 2026. Birmingham Barons’ back-to-back Southern League titles underline the depth, with Quero, Sosa, Baldwin, Elko, Vargas, and Meidroth looming. Michael A. Taylor retires; 2026 looks brighter.

Colson Montgomery capped a breakout rookie season with a record-setting run at short for the White Sox, belting 21 homers in his first 70 games and posting 2.9 WAR despite a compressed debut calendar. A slow start at Triple-A gave way to a polished approach, defensively and mentally, turning into a clubhouse cornerstone.

He closed strong with clutch power, including a ninth-inning homer vs Washington, and his defensive flexibility—including 12 games at third—has Chicago dreaming big about a durable core. Montgomery’s rise reshapes expectations for 2026 and beyond as the Sox lean into youth and upside.

Two struggling teams meet as the Chicago White Sox face the Washington Nationals in what could be a high-scoring affair. Chicago leans on Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel at the top of a cautious lineup while Chase Meidroth and Edgar Quero try to spark production from an offense that has been short on big swings. Washington errors could tilt the balance, but Jake Irvin and the Nationals are themselves fighting an uphill battle. With Tyler Gilbert opening and Sean Burke in a bullpen-heavy plan, fantasy managers should expect runs and volatility, as the White Sox chase a rare win late in a brutal season.

The pitching matchup hints at plenty of scoring, with Irvin's inflated ERA and Sox bullpen usage shaping the game flow. Montgomery's OPS over .800 and Teel near .800 anchor a fragile roster, while Meidroth and Quero struggle to climb above sub-par marks. Losses piling up for both clubs make this an unusual fantasy pivot—look for late-game opportunities on both sides, especially with four Washington errors potentially creating cheap counting stats for Chicago.

Colson Montgomery delivered a clutch two-run homer in the ninth, lifting the Chicago White Sox to a 10-9 win at Nationals Park and snapping a five-game skid in the opener of their final series. Washington slugged six homers, led by Luis García Jr., but Chicago rallied late to steal the victory.

Lenyn Sosa supplied early offense with an RBI single, a solo homer, and an RBI double as the Sox sprinted to an 8-1 lead. Yoendrys Gómez battled through six innings, giving up four homers, yet a ninth-inning sequence—Teel reached on Ferrer’s error and Montgomery’s go-ahead blast—sealed the dramatic finish for Chicago.