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White Sox star prospect wins MVP award in the minor leagues

Chicago White Sox shortstop prospect Caleb Bonemer put an exclamation point on his first professional season by being named Carolina League MVP.
BySam Phalen|
Sep 1, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of Chicago White Sox hat and glove against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Sep 1, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of Chicago White Sox hat and glove against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Minor league shortstop Caleb Bonemer had a memorable first season as a professional baseball player.

Bonemer, drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft, started the 2025 season with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers for his first taste of affiliated baseball.

While he reached High-A Winston-Salem by the season’s end, Bonemer spent a majority of the season in Kannapolis.

In 96 games at Low-A, Bonemer hit .281 with a .400 on-base percentage, .859 OPS, 10 home runs, and 27 stolen bases. He was even better after his promotion. Bonemer also showed enough defensive prowess to give talent evaluators confidence that he can stick at shortstop.

That earned him a place on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list. He is currently the No. 84 ranked prospect in all of baseball and the No. 4 prospect in the White Sox organization.

Bonemer wins Carolina League MVP

Bonemer’s well-rounded campaign earned him many accolades, including numerous Player of the Week honors. He most recently was named an All-Star and the MVP of the Carolina League, a testament to how much he can impact the game and the bright future that Bonemer has ahead of him in professional baseball.

According to the Dan Helotie and the official website of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, Caleb Bonemer is the first player in franchise history to win the league MVP award.

It's a deserving honor. Bonemer led the entire Carolina league in on-base, slugging, and OPS.

The jury is still out on if Bonemer is the White Sox shortstop of the future or if he will move elsewhere on the infield while Colson Montgomery or Billy Carlson hold down the fort at shortstop. Either way, it's safe to assume Bonemer is part of the future plans on the South Side of Chicago, and it may not be long before he joins the current young core.

If we are to assume Bonemer starts the 2026 season in High-A Winston-Salem (or maybe even Birmingham), he could make his way to the big leagues at some point in 2027 when he's still only 21 years old. That's not far fetched considering he's a 19-year-old winning MVP awards in his first year in the minor leagues.

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