Texas A&M Aggies outfielder Braden Montgomery, a strong candidate to be selected in the top five picks of next month's Major League Baseball amateur draft according to scouts and other talent evaluators who have spoken to CBS Sports in recent weeks, suffered an apparent foot and/or leg injury during the first inning of Saturday's Super Regionals game against the Oregon Ducks.
Montgomery, who had walked in his trip to the plate, was trying to score the tying run from second base on a single to left field by first baseman Ted Burton when he incurred the injury. Montgomery had hesitated before coming home, and went down awkwardly as part of his head-first slide attempt. (He was tagged out before he could touch the plate.) According to Carter Karels, a Texas A&M beat writer for GigEm247, Montgomery could not put any weight on that leg. Trainers subsequently applied an aircast before helping Montgomery off the field and into the dugout.
The Aggies adjusted their defense by moving center fielder Jace LaViolette to right, second baseman Travis Chestnut to center, and inserting reserve Kaeden Kent at the keystone.
Montgomery, 21, is a switch-hitter who launched 27 home runs this season while amassing a .322/.452/.733 slash line in 60 games. A former two-way player, he also made a pair of pitching appearances for the Aggies. Pro scouts, however, consider him to be a bat-only prospect -- and a good one at that, based on his above-average strength and plate discipline.
Montgomery had transferred to Texas A&M last offseason after beginning his collegiate career at Stanford. In parts of three seasons, he's hit .317/.427/.646 with 62 home runs and 203 runs batted in, making him one of the most prolific switch-hitters in recent memory.
