Weekly Pebble Report: Benny Montgomery takes things day-by-day

Hartford Yard Goats outfielder Benny Montgomery may be just 23-years-old, but he’s already entering his sixth season in the Rockies system.

Selected eighth overall in the 2021 draft out of Red Land High School in Pennsylvania, the 6’5” Montgomery hit the ground running. He made a strong first impression by hitting .340/.404/.383 in 14 games with the Arizona Complex League after being drafted and continued to rise as a prospect as he thrived in the lower levels of the farm system.

In 2022 with the Low-A

Fresno Grizzlies, he hit .313.394/.502 with 20 doubles, three triples, six home runs, and 42 RBIs over 56 games. Though he did miss time on the injured list with a groin injury, he ended the season as the September 2022 California League Player of the month.

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Montgomery continued his progress with a solid campaign with the High-A Spokane Indians the following year. He appeared in 109 games, hitting .251/.336/.370 with 18 doubles, 2 triples, and ten home runs in a less hitter-friendly environment. He was named an organizational minor league All-Star and earned an invitation to the 2023 Arizona Fall League. As a member of the Salt River Rafters, Montgomery dazzled by hitting .333/.436/.500 with another three home runs and was named to the “Fall Stars” Arizona Fall League All-Star team.

Assigned to the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats to start the 2024 season, it looked like Montgomery would continue his ascent as one of the Rockies’ top prospects. Through 11 games he hit .283/.313/.500 with four doubles and two home runs and was even named an Eastern League Player of the Week.

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Then an event happened that would derail his young professional career. While diving for a ball in the outfield, Montgomery dislocated his left shoulder. The injury ended up doing structural damage that required surgery and would cause him to miss the rest of the season.

Montgomery returned to the Yard Goats for the 2025 season and appeared in 86 games—the second-most in his professional career—but looked like a shell of his former self. The former top prospect hit just .201/.274/.263 with eight doubles and four home runs.

Now with the 2026 minor league season underway and a pending minor league free agent at the end of the year, Montgomery is again with the Hartford Yard Goats as he tries to regain form.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t an uphill battle from 2024 after the injury,” Montgomery said. “That and a lot of quirky injuries happened last year. So really it’s getting the confidence back trusting my stuff to where it was. It’s been been really good, and I don’t think I’m there yet, but I think I’m really close, and I’m really happy with how it’s going.”

Montgomery made no secret of his frustrations coming back from that uphill battle and his struggles in 2025.

“It was a grind. I don’t have many positive emotions about it,” he said.

However, he has also come away from the experience with new insight and lessons learned.

“I think the silver lining is sometimes you don’t need to go through things, but when you do, you can’t control some of the things that happen and then the only thing you do is make the most out of the situation,” Montgomery explained. “And I feel like I’ve learned a lot, gotten a lot better mentally, dealing with things, dealing with failure, and now I’m out there to have fun, enjoy playing, and that’s all you can do.”

Montgomery further ruminated on his experiences and how they have changed him.

“I’m completely different, I think, than I was,” he said. “I have much more perspective. I hadn’t really ever experienced failure before 2024 or injury, or anything like that. Now I have more perspective of what it’s like to be able to play every day, to really enjoy what you’re doing. I think that’s really important. And happy to be out here.”

Not only is Montgomery grateful to be back and playing ball, but he’s grateful to be doing to with his teammates in Hartford.

“We’re all really close. We’ve got a lot of close friends here,” he said. “We like to hang off the field. We like to do stuff with each other. It’s a really close knit group of guys, and it’s a lot of really good baseball players. When you’re having a bunch of good baseball players that enjoy playing together, it makes for a pretty good team.”

As the season rolls on, Montgomery—once focused on goals like most baseball players—is choosing to take things day-by-day and game-by-game.

“I used to be a goals guy. Not anymore,” Montgomery said. “I want to go play baseball. I want to feel good, play baseball, enjoy time with my buddies, and just feel blessed to be out there doing it every day. No goals. Whatever happens, happens. I’m just here to play.”

Weekly Pebble Report: May 12th-18th

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (2-4, 25-20 Overall)

The Albuquerque Isotopes had a bit of a rough week, particularly on the pitching side of things, as they lost a six-game series for the first time since first full week of the season. Things started off on a high note with a pair of victories, including an extra-inning walk-off win, but the Isotopes then dropped four straight to the Oklahoma City Comets (Los Angeles Dodgers), tying their season-high losing streak. Over those final four contests, Albuquerque’s pitching staff surrendered 59 runs and 69 hits, capped by the 20 runs given up on Sunday.

⬆️ Stock Up: The Sean Sullivan Show

While the pitching staff ended up having a tough week, Sean Sullivan (No. 8 PuRP) delivered the best start. Taking the pill for the second game of the series, Sullivan cruised through six innings, allowing just two runs, one earned, on five hits with three strikeouts and a walk. He attacked the zone, throwing 65-of-97 pitches for strikes and induced seven ground balls. Sullivan improved to 4-2 on the season and owns a 5.08 ERA.

⬇️ Stock Down: Learning and Growing

Slumps are a pain in the posterior for any aspiring big leaguer and Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) is still working through one in Albuquerque. He had a rough series against Oklahoma City, going 4-for-22 with 10 strikeouts and four walks. Condon’s power has disappeared over the last few weeks, but he did manage a triple during the week for just his second extra-base hit at home in Albuquerque. He is now slashing .232/.369/.735 on the season.

Upcoming:

The Isotopes head back out on the road to begin a six-game series against the Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics) on Tuesday.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (3-3, 19-19 Overall)

The Yard Goats salvaged a series split against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox). After winning the series opener, Hartford lost three relatively close contests in a row before bouncing back to win the final two games. The Yard Goats are now 7-3 in their last ten games and sit just 3.5 games back of New Hampshire for their division.

⬆️ Stock Up: Dandy Andy

Shortstop Andy Perez stood out at the plate against the Sea Dogs. Despite having one hitless game in the six he played, Perez still went 12-for-25 with two doubles and two stolen bases while only striking out three times. Perez leads the Yard Goats in both batting average and on-base percentage, and has the second-most stolen bases so far this season.

⬇️ Stock Down: Gray Skies

Denver wasn’t the only place where the weather’s taken a turn for the worse over the last week. Left-handed reliever Sam Weatherly continues to struggle at the Double-A level. In his one outing against the Sea Dogs—acting as an opener—he gave up three earned runs on two hits—including a home run—and two walks over two innings of work. His ERA for the season sits at 10.91 with a 2.298 WHIP and opposing batters hitting .391 against him.

Upcoming:

The Yard Goats are heading to New Hampshire to play the division-leading Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays) in a series that could help Hartford make a leap up in the standings.

High-A: Spokane Indians (2-4, 15-24 Overall)

The Indians sit at the bottom of the Northwest League after losing their series against the Hillsboro Hops (Arizona Diamondbacks). When the Indians could get their offense going they were able to come away with a win, but in three of their four losses they were able to score just two runs.

⬆️ Stock Up: Hammer Time

Left-handed 2023 12th round pick Bryson Hammer has been operating largely in a long relief role this season, but it appears the organization has decided to take the training wheels off by having him start his last two contests. In just his second career start, Hammer was outstanding. He pitched a career-high six innings of shutout baseball, allowing just one hit and striking out eight batters. He was named Northwest League Pitcher of the Week.

⬇️ Stock Down: Singing the Belyeus

Outfielder Max Belyeu (no. 15 PuRP) is having himself a difficult first full season of professional baseball, hitting just .191/.290/.383 in 31 games—though 11 of his 22 hits have been for extra bases. Belyeu appeared in just three games against the Hops. In his first game he managed his second multi-hit game of the season, but it was also the first since April 5th and he only had just one more hit the rest of the series.

Upcoming:

The Indians will host the Vancouver Canadians (Toronto Blue Jays) this week. Make sure to say “happy birthday” to DORIS the mascot on Wednesday.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (4-2, 23-16 Overall)

The Grizzlies continued their strong season with a series win over the Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks). They now sit tied for the best record in the California League thanks to a strong offense and solid pitching.

⬆️ Stock Up: Jack Attack

Catcher and designated hitter Jack O’Dowd was named the California League Player of the Week. He had multiple hits in three of five games, going 9-for-20 at the plate with three doubles, a triple, two home runs—including a grand slam—and seven RBIs. O’Dowd, who just turned 25, was signed out of the Pioneer League this off-season and has been enjoying a breakout campaign in Fresno. He is currently hitting .342/.385/.709 with seven home runs.

⬆️ Stock Up: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Roldy Brito is good.

Roldy Brito (no. 11 PuRP) continues to dominate in Fresno. In another impressive week he went 13-for-28 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, six RBIs, and two stolen bases. The breakout prospect also played both second base and center field.

Upcoming:

A road series against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Los Angeles Angels) is up next for the Grizzlies.

Arizona Complex League: ACL Rockies (2-3, 8-4 Overall)

The ACL Rockies kicked off the week with two wins against the ACL Angels and ACL Reds, but lost their remaining three games. They are tied for the second-best record in the ACL and are currently on top of their division.

⬆️ Stock Up: Can’t Arguelles with those results

18-year-old Venezuelan outfielder Cristian Arguelles (HM PuRP) had a solid week at the plate, going 7-for-17 with two triples and a home run with three RBIs.

⬇️ Stock Down: Hughes it or lose it

After being shut down with injury for a few weeks, Gabriel Hughes (no. 12 PuRP) made a rehab start against the ACL Giants. In four innings he gave up four earned runs on seven hits—including a home run—with a walk and three strikeouts.