Scouting Report

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One of the top high school right-handers in this Draft class, Montgomery committed to attend Florida State for college over two years ago. With electric stuff and a solid summer showcase circuit that included pitching in the PDP League and striking out the side in his inning of work at the Under Armour All-America Game, Montgomery very well may never make it to Tallahassee.

With a quick arm and an athletic frame, Montgomery's stuff is led by a live fastball that regularly gets up to 94-95 mph. He complements his heater with a power breaking ball that's a bit of a slider/curveball hybrid, thrown typically in the 78-80 mph range, but can get up into the low 80s at times. He doesn't need his changeup much in high school, but he does show very good feel for it, with some scouts thinking it could eventually develop into his best secondary offering.

Montgomery throws a lot of strikes, repeats his delivery fairly consistently and has a good gameplan on the mound with more polish than many hard-throwing prepsters. The Seminoles and new head coach Mike Martin Jr. would undoubtedly love to have him lead their staff for the next three years, but he could be one of the first high school arms to get drafted.

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40

Montgomery was a big-time pitching prospect coming out of Windermere High School in the Orlando area in 2020, ranking at No. 34 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 200 list. The shortened Draft because of the pandemic -- combined with his strong commitment to Florida State -- meant Montgomery went undrafted that summer. He’s shown off big stuff, albeit with very inconsistent results, in various starting roles for the Seminoles since, and there was hope for a breakthrough this spring after he threw well for Team USA in brief looks over the summer, but he struggled, which led to a quick yanking out of Florida State’s rotation. 

The 6-foot-3 Montgomery looks the part as a big, strong right-hander with the potential to have a four-pitch mix -- all at least average -- in the future. It starts with a fastball that he had thrown in the 94-98 mph range in the past but was averaging around 93 mph this spring, albeit with good run and sink. He complements it with a hard mid-80s slider that can miss bats, but he overthrows it at times. He uses a newer upper-80s cutter and has decent feel for a changeup, though he doesn’t throw it much.

For as good as his stuff is, Montgomery’s numbers haven’t matched up. He can get out of sync and needs to clean up his delivery and arm action so he can throw more consistent strikes. The FSU staff’s short leash hasn’t helped his confidence, and his strike-throwing regressed in 2023, making his Draft stock a little tough to figure out.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40 

Montgomery was well-known as an Orlando-area high schooler and slotted in at No. 34 on MLB Pipeline’s 2020 Draft rankings. The shortened Draft and his strong commitment to Florida State kept him from being drafted that year, but he never found consistent success with the Seminoles as a starter or a reliever. The Padres still took him in the 11th round in 2023 and signed him for $200,000. Montgomery needed Tommy John surgery after only three appearances with Single-A Lake Elsinore in '24, and he didn’t return to a mound in an official setting until the 2025 Arizona Fall League, where he allowed two earned runs, struck out seven and walked seven in 10 1/3 frames. He has opened his age-23 season as a starter with High-A Fort Wayne.

The 6-foot-1 right-hander showcases both a four-seamer and sinker. He can sit 92-95 mph with the heat, though he’s been below that at times in the cold Midwest League this spring. The sinker has decent tail running in on righties, while the four-seam will flash promising ride, and both were significant chase pitches in the AFL. His 83-86 mph slider is back as a whiff generator in 2026, flashing enough depth to look like a potential above-average offering, while his upper-80s changeup lacks enough separation to be a serious weapon against lefties at this stage.

Montgomery had control problems dating back to his first year in Tallahassee but has actually tightened up his command coming out of his TJ recovery and rehab, enough to keep getting starting looks. He’s already facing Rule 5 eligibility this upcoming offseason though, and unless there’s a significant jump in stuff in 2026, he might not be far off from seeing if the sinker-slider combo can play up as a righty-heavy option in the bullpen.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40

Ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 34 prospect in the 2020 Draft class as a high schooler in the Orlando area, Montgomery slipped out of that year’s five-round process, in part because of the shortened Draft and his strong commitment to Florida State. He never quite performed for the Seminoles, working as both a starter and reliever, but he did sprinkle in some promising outings for Team USA in the summer of 2021. After posting a 7.00 ERA and 1.98 WHIP over 45 innings in his final season on campus, Montgomery went to the Padres in the 11th round and signed for $200,000.

The praise for Montgomery was that he could pop in the summer and fall, but the knock was that it wouldn’t show in the spring. His fastball touched 97 last spring but averaged around 93 mph with a sinking profile, making it play closer to average. Padres area scouts always believed that the right-hander could rip a quality 82-85 mph slider, and his upper-80s cutter gave him another shorter breaking look that could also get misses. He barely touched a mid-80s changeup and didn’t control it well in the zone or get enough chase to make it effective.

Montgomery’s walk rate jumped from 9.3 percent in 2022 to 16.4 percent in 2023, causing him to be bumped from the FSU rotation. That, combined with his fastball-slider combo, points to an easier relief-pitcher combination, but San Diego officials are hopeful they can help him adjust to find the zone more often and get him closer to his prep promise as a potential starter.

Awards

AFL Rising Stars

Year	Team
2025

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	03/28/2026	RHP Carson Montgomery assigned to Fort Wayne TinCaps from Lake Elsinore Storm.
	11/08/2025	National League Fall Stars activated RHP Carson Montgomery from the 60-day injured list.
	11/06/2025	Lake Elsinore Storm activated RHP Carson Montgomery from the 60-day injured list.
	09/10/2025	RHP Carson Montgomery assigned to Peoria Javelinas.
	03/20/2025	Lake Elsinore Storm placed RHP Carson Montgomery on the 60-day injured list.
	09/24/2024	Lake Elsinore Storm activated RHP Carson Montgomery from the 7-day injured list.
	04/27/2024	Lake Elsinore Storm placed RHP Carson Montgomery on the 7-day injured list.
	04/02/2024	RHP Carson Montgomery assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm from ACL Padres.
	03/08/2024	RHP Carson Montgomery assigned to San Diego Padres.
	03/07/2024	San Diego Padres Prospects activated RHP Carson Montgomery.
	07/20/2023	San Diego Padres signed RHP Carson Montgomery.
	07/20/2023	RHP Carson Montgomery assigned to ACL Padres.
	06/05/2023	RHP Carson Montgomery assigned to College Workout.
	07/02/2022	USAB Stars Team activated RHP Carson Montgomery.
	07/01/2022	RHP Carson Montgomery and assigned to College Workout.
	05/07/2022	RHP Carson Montgomery assigned to Florida State Seminoles.
	08/08/2019	RHP Carson Montgomery assigned to PG East.
	08/08/2019	RHP Carson Montgomery assigned to PG East.
	07/19/2019	RHP Carson Montgomery assigned to UA American.