Bonemer Boost

[RudyLawRules]

Keith Law now has Caleb Bonemer up to 44 in his Top 100 prospect list and now the below. We may have gotten this one right!!

Elijah Evans from @futuresox with some stats breakdown.   https://x.com/i/status/2015891206606319718

Edited yesterday at 05:36 PM by RudyLawRules

[southsider2k5]

It is very nice to see the pundits start to acknowledge this kid.  Hopefully he can carry this success into the high minors.

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

Is this town prepared for two elite Caleb's?!?

Kids got a lot of helium, let's keep that balloon full!

[chitownsportsfan]

Really doesn't mean much to me right now. Nice to have a riser but we have fallers too. 

[2Deep]

Glad to see this but not going to get excited over prospects.  My excitement has been put out with water much more often then the flames have been ignited.

I hope Caleb is really good.   

[Autumn Dreamin]

On Bones:

Quote

Caleb Bonemer, SS, White Sox 

• 2026 Rank: 27th

In his first minor league season, Bonemer’s stock rose considerably, and he now finds himself among the top 30 prospects in all of baseball. If he can elevate his game even further, there’s a pathway to the No. 1 spot with so many of the other top prospects likely to graduate.

At the plate, Bonemer checks a lot of boxes of a potential top prospect. His exit velocities compare favorably to Jesús Made’s, and his zone-contact and chase rate are already better. If he can add more strength to boost his exit velocities and improve his overall contact rate, his overall data would look very similar to Kevin McGonigle’s from 2025. Right now, Bonemer projects for at least above-average hit and power, and there’s a path for both those to look more like plus-or-better tools in 2026. 

And a little on Roch who got several votes:

Quote

Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA

• 2026 Rank: NR

If Cholowsky were eligible to be in the Top 100 right now, I think he would have a compelling case to be a top 10 prospect immediately. Among pro shortstops, the list of players I would take before Cholowsky is minuscule: Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle, JJ Wetherholt and Jesús Made. Beyond those names, I’m not sure I could credibly place a shortstop on the board in front of Cholowsky. He’s a quasi-generational sort of draft prospect. [...]

Cholowsky has few flaws to speak of. He’s not an elite runner, but beyond that he could wind up with plus tools in the hit, power, field and arm categories. [...] College baseball rarely sees shortstops of this caliber and with this sort of upside. 

[EloyJenkins]

1 hour ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Is this town prepared for two elite Caleb's?!?

Kids got a lot of helium, let's keep that balloon full!

2? The one on the Bears is 32nd in the NFL in completion percentage...(I know he is a comeback king)

[southsider2k5]

30 minutes ago, EloyJenkins said:

2? The one on the Bears is 32nd in the NFL in completion percentage...(I know he is a comeback king)

And set an NFL record for fewest INTs to start a career.  It's called coaching.

[joejoesox]

how does Caleb Bonemer's milb stats look so far compared to Vargas first two years in the minors

[PaleAleSox]

11 minutes ago, joejoesox said:

how does Caleb Bonemer's milb stats look so far compared to Vargas first two years in the minors

How does that even matter as a comparison? 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

3 hours ago, EloyJenkins said:

2? The one on the Bears is 32nd in the NFL in completion percentage...(I know he is a comeback king)

I'm as tough on caleb as anyone, but at this point it's hard to deny the upside. Will he get there? He's got the right coach to get him there if it's possible. 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

4 hours ago, Autumn Dreamin said:

On Bones:

And a little on Roch who got several votes:

A college player as supposedly a top 10 prospect before playing pro baseball is just comical. 

The last generational talent in amateur baseball hit .188 in AA last year and is no longer a ranked prospect. The jump from amateur baseball to MLB is just astronomical.

[WestEddy]

1 hour ago, joejoesox said:

how does Caleb Bonemer's milb stats look so far compared to Vargas first two years in the minors

Bonemer OPSed .859 as a 19-year-old in low-A Carolina League. He only had 44 PAs in high-A. Vargas OPSed .864 as a 19-year-old in his 323 PA's in low-A Midwest league. 

Miguel Vargas Cuban & Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Caleb Bonemer Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

[WhiteSox2023]

2 hours ago, PaleAleSox said:

How does that even matter as a comparison? 

Apparently someone wants Vargas replaced faster than me.  🤣

[Timmy U]

2 hours ago, WestEddy said:

Bonemer OPSed .859 as a 19-year-old in low-A Carolina League. He only had 44 PAs in high-A. Vargas OPSed .864 as a 19-year-old in his 323 PA's in low-A Midwest league. 

Miguel Vargas Cuban & Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Caleb Bonemer Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Obviously, it is very hard to compare the son of a Cuban baseball legend who had to defect to this country, but signed earlier to a guy who did the showcase circuit but also played Lansing-area High School ball. Then add in the illness that swept through Kanny last year and helped lead to a lost month for Bonemer. Vargas and Bonemer are each on very different journeys.

[WestEddy]

5 minutes ago, Timmy U said:

Obviously, it is very hard to compare the son of a Cuban baseball legend who had to defect to this country, but signed earlier to a guy who did the showcase circuit but also played Lansing-area High School ball. Then add in the illness that swept through Kanny last year and helped lead to a lost month for Bonemer. Vargas and Bonemer are each on very different journeys.

Of course. 

[Y2Jimmy0]

3 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

A college player as supposedly a top 10 prospect before playing pro baseball is just comical. 

The last generational talent in amateur baseball hit .188 in AA last year and is no longer a ranked prospect. The jump from amateur baseball to MLB is just astronomical.

Who is this in reference to? I do think Cholowsky is the best college shortstop since Tulowitzki. 

[SoCalChiSox]

I read somewhere Bonemer might end up at 2nd which means Colson at 3rd (IMO best long term spot) and Cholowsky if we pick him at SS.

That would be an awesome infield.

[Y2Jimmy0]

I’m thinking 3B or outfield is more likely than 2B for Bonemer. 

3 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said:

I read somewhere Bonemer might end up at 2nd which means Colson at 3rd (IMO best long term spot) and Cholowsky if we pick him at SS.

That would be an awesome infield.

 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

6 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

Who is this in reference to? I do think Cholowsky is the best college shortstop since Tulowitzki. 

Ethan Salas.

I sound like I'm hating on the kid, but I'm not. He's a GREAT amateur player. Last year could also be the best year of his baseball life. He also may even be a great pro one day. Both scenarios have happened 100 times before. The idea He's a top 10 prospect before stepping on a pro field wouldn't be my take. Doesn't even mean he couldn't become one after 40 games, but there are no layups in baseball.

[chitownsportsfan]

13 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Ethan Salas.

I sound like I'm hating on the kid, but I'm not. He's a GREAT amateur player. Last year could also be the best year of his baseball life. He also may even be a great pro one day. Both scenarios have happened 100 times before. The idea He's a top 10 prospect before stepping on a pro field wouldn't be my take. Doesn't even mean he couldn't become one after 40 games, but there are no layups in baseball.

With all due respect: you're comparing an international teen signing that was like a consensus back end top 40 guy to a college JR consensus 1/1 entering the cycle with terms like "quasi generational draft prospect" by the cynical Law thrown around on them?

Cholo is a really, really, really good prospect with what (at this data point in time) appears to have a "solid regular" floor. Salas never had "solid regular" as anything more than a median case outcome, at any point in his prospect pedigree.

Edited 17 hours ago by chitownsportsfan

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

12 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

With all due respect: you're comparing an international teen signing that was like a consensus back end top 40 guy to a college JR consensus 1/1 entering the cycle with terms like "quasi generational draft prospect"?

Cholo is a really, really, really good prospect with what (at this data point in time) appears to have a "solid regular" floor. Salas never had "solid regular" as anything more than a median case outcome, at any point in his prospect pedigree.

College generational proclamations have probably fared worse than international ones. 

Salas was a top 10 prospect everywhere after 60ish games as a 17 year old. Certainly only something ive seen a couple times in my life so feels pretty significant.

Obviously there's more unknown about a 17 year old than a 20something, but the point just being nothing in baseball is guaranteed... and at least the 17 year old had 70 games of pro ball under his belt. His floor has always been extremely high as he's an elite defensive catcher.

Edited 17 hours ago by Look at Ray Ray Run

[southsider2k5]

5 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

College generational proclamations have probably fared worse than international ones. 

Salas was a top 10 prospect everywhere after 60ish games as a 17 year old. Certainly only something ive seen a couple times in my life so feels pretty significant.

Obviously there's more unknown about a 17 year old than a 20something, but the point just being nothing in baseball is guaranteed. 

Literally no one said this

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

58 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

Who is this in reference to? I do think Cholowsky is the best college shortstop since Tulowitzki. 

Do you like him more than Adley as a college player?

[Chick Mercedes]

9 hours ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Really doesn't mean much to me right now. Nice to have a riser but we have fallers too.