Jim Schlossnagle addresses Braden Montgomery's role in Texas A&M's pitching rotation

Braden Montgomery is a two-way talent. Texas A&M doesn’t plan on wasting his rare abilities. On Friday, Aggies head coach Jim Schlossnagle addressed how the team will utilize Montgomery’s coveted skills.

“In terms of balancing him, the guys who are really good at that, they’ve been doing this their whole life so you trust them,” Schlossnagle said. “We know he’s got a good arm. We know that’s a weapon in the outfield when he’s playing that. The thing with Braden is he’s so smart and mature that you can trust him which is the favorite kind of player to coach.”

Montgomery transferred to Texas A&M this season after spending two years at Stanford. While there, Montgomery built a reputation as one of the best two-way players in the country. In the field, Montgomery can easily cover the outfield or throw daggers from the mound.

In his sophomore season at Stanford, Montgomery made 10 appearances on the mound, including a pair of starts. He finished the season with 19 strikeouts in just 14.0 innings of work.

In his debut campaign, Montgomery made 15 appearances on the mound, recording a 5.79 ERA and limiting opponents to a .182 batting average. Of course, Montgomery’s pitching may not even be his best quality.

In two seasons with the Cardinal, Montgomery boasted a .315 batting average while tallying 154 hits, 118 RBIs and 35 home runs. For his efforts, he was named the 2022 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and was a two-time All-Pac 12 selection.

Braden Montgomery moving up the pitching ladder

Shlossnagle is excited to use Montgomery’s talents.

“He’s pitched pretty well the last two times out, so I would say that he’s climbing up that ladder,” Schlossnagle said. “The guys that pitch the best, pitch the most. When he gets his opportunities, he needs to do well with them. If he does, then we’ll build on that but he’s very talented.

“He really views himself as legitimate pitcher and he certainly ended our season last year, which I remind him a lot of. He was part of ending our season, both with the bat and his arm last year. I’ve seen it up close and personal, and I think he’s better now. His breaking ball is better. He has some other serviceable pitches outside of his fastball, so we’ll see.”

Montgomery helped the Cardinal send Texas A&M packing in the Stanford Regional last season. In the series, he notched four runs scored, two doubles, a home run and a pair of RBI. He also was pivotal in a relief outing, dealing for 2.1 innings with 3 strikeouts and only 1 hit allowed.

Braden Montgomery did not pitch in Texas A&M’s first two regular-season games. However, he did record a home run in the Aggies’ season-opening win against McNeese State.