White Sox Prospect Caleb Bonemer Pleased With MVP Season, Hungry For More

The White Sox selected Bonemer in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Okemos High School in Michigan, and he spent most of his first season with the Single-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. 

Going from high school to the professional ranks, Bonemer said the biggest adjustments were learning how to take care of his body after playing an everyday schedule and his approach at the plate against more talented pitchers. 

The need for adjustments doesn’t always suggest a lull in production, though, as Bonemer hit the ground running with a .300 batting average through May. He credited the work he put into his swing during the offseason for the strong start. 

He wasn’t too surprised about his success because he was confident going into the year. From a growth standpoint, he gained a better understanding of his approach and ability to determine when to be aggressive and when to be passive.

Bonemer’s lone rough patch of the season came in June, when he posted a .557 OPS in 21 games. That’s a notable dropoff from his season-long OPS of .874, including an OPS of .865 or higher in four of five months from April through August.

“Looking back on that, I wish I could have done better there, but yeah, I think overall, I'm pretty happy with how I did,” Bonemer said. “One of the things with pro ball is expectations and things like that. And one of the things I've been trying to work on is not looking at that stuff, just taking it day by day and doing my process and what I've got to do and just doing that. And all the results will take care of itself.”

After slashing .281/.400/.458/.859 with 10 home runs, 26 doubles, 58 RBIs, 68 walks, 91 strikeouts and 27 stolen bases in Kannapolis, he earned a late-season promotion to High-A Winston-Salem. Moving up a level didn’t deter him, however, as he posted a 1.020 OPS in 44 plate appearances. 

Bonemer said he has always been a naturally pull-heavy hitter and that his strength is pulling the ball with damage. He leaned into that this season, especially as he became more comfortable being aggressive and timing up breaking balls.

That contributed to an uptick in power, as he hit seven home runs and 16 doubles across 165 plate appearances in July and August, compared to five home runs and 12 doubles in 289 plate appearances from April through June.

“There's certain times when, if I got a hanging breaking ball before, I might have kind of taken it because I was sold out on the fastball, instead of just letting it rip,” Bonemer said. “Because like, what's the worst thing that could happen? If I swing and miss, so what? But if you connect with one, usually good things happen. So near the end of the year, I tried to focus on getting the ball up front a little bit more and if I saw something hanging, to just go ahead and take a whack at it.” 

Bonemer’s focus has since shifted to the offseason. He recently wrapped up a camp in Arizona before returning home to Michigan for a few weeks. He plans on spending most of the offseason in Nashville, where he’ll train with White Sox rookie Colson Montgomery and others. 

Bonemer said he learned a lot from hitting with Montgomery, who’s tied for third among rookies with 19 home runs this season, and that they kept in touch at times during the season. 

The two of them, along with 2025 first-round pick Billy Carlson, stock the White Sox system with an abundance of talent at shortstop –– a good problem to have. Bonemer also played 24 games at third base this season, but would love to play shortstop as long as possible

At the same time, he’s willing to sacrifice for the team and acknowledged the decision is not totally in his control.

“I'll do whatever it takes to get called up as quick as possible,” Bonemer said. “And do whatever it takes for the team to win.”

The MVP season led to Bonemer rising to No. 4 among White Sox prospects and No. 83 overall in the MLB Pipeline rankings. He wasn’t necessarily overlooked or underrated going into the year as a second-round pick, but now he certainly won’t sneak up on anyone as his career continues

“[Expectations] are for sure going to rise,” Bonemer said. “I'm just going to try my best to not focus on [that,] just kind of do what I know, what I've got to do to get better every day. 
And yeah, hopefully all the results will take care of themselves.”

“It's cool to see the accolades and stuff you get. But it can also be a hard thing sometimes to live up to those, but like I said, just trying to focus on getting better every day and kind of just let everything play out.”