BENNY-BALL
His excitement is as high as Mount Elbert — the tallest point in the Rocky Mountains — but Benny Montgomery isn’t about to get ahead of himself.
Drafted eighth overall in the MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies, Montgomery, formerly of Bloomsburg, has just one goal: He wants to play meaningful baseball at Coors Field.
The Virginia commit is expected to forego amateur baseball and sign with the Rockies on Wednesday, with the slot value of his selection going for $5,176,900.
“If all the negotiations go right, I will be signing with Colorado,” Montgomery said. “... I’m excited to get out there and see Denver and the field, meet people face-to-face and hopefully have a good week there.”
Montgomery isn’t all that surprised he was chosen by the Rockies, saying he had discussions with Colorado at the MLB Draft Combine in Corrine, North Carolina, in late June. At the start of the MLB Draft, the team hosting the all-star festivities, including the draft, reopened those discussions.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound, Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year hit.420 with seven home runs, 22 RBIs and 19 stolen bases for Red Land High School out of Lewisberry.
Strong roots
And though he moved to the Harrisburg area when he was 14 years old in 2016, Montgomery isn’t one to forget about where he came from.
Ranked as the No. 15 prospect — seventh at the high school level — by MLB Pipeline, he credits the area with teaching him the game and falling in love with the sport.
“I learned how to play the game and spent my first five years in Bloomsburg,” Montgomery said. “I played in Lightstreet Little League and learned some of the game from there. Some of my best memories are with the South Columbia [all-star] baseball team.”
On the biggest day of his young life, some of the friends he made here were in the crowd of some 70 friends and family congratulating him in his living room when MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred called his name.
Montgomery says sharing that moment with those closest to him meant a great deal.
“It was definitely super cool. I had about 20-25% of the people be my Bloomsburg family,” Montgomery said. “It was cool to see them and have people come down. I wanted them to be there for the big day.”
Included in the mass were former teammates and longtime friends Dylan Harris, Dylan Devlin, Nick Kishbaugh, Luke Zeisloft, Garrett Carter and Eli Morrison — most of whom played for Central this past spring.
Despite a busy spring and summer schedule, Montgomery makes it a priority to keep in touch. He returns to the area during the fall and winter to catch up and watch them play football or basketball.
“I keep in touch with them a lot and it was good to see them again,” Montgomery said.
Moving forward
The first thing ESPN mentioned when Montgomery was drafted was that his “work ethic is off the charts.”
Scouts rave about his speed and raw power from the right side — showing such by winning the Perfect Game All-American Classic Home Run Derby. MLB Pipeline says he is “a plus defender... reminds some of Jayson Werth from his amateur days.” Many expect if adjustments are made to Montgomery’s swing, he’ll be the perfect fit for Denver’s thin air.
For now, Montgomery isn’t looking too far into the crystal ball, keeping his priorities right in front of him.
“I will fly right back to Phoenix and spend a month in Scottsdale [after expecting to sign a contract],” Montgomery said. “I’ll play Rookie Ball games and get adjusted to the game. I hope to get off to a good start.”
Expectations that come with a top-10 selection are great, but Montgomery is staying focused on his own personal goal.
“I want to play at Coors Field someday,” he said. “I hear it’s really cool to play in and I’m looking forward to playing for the Rockies organization.”
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