Caleb Bonemer is making the White Sox’s midseason minor league conversation pretty simple.
Baseball America already pegged him as the favorite to be named the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year, and the reasons are easy to see. A wave of promotions wiped out much of the competition - Sam Antonacci, Braden Montgomery and Jacob Gonzalez among the names that moved up - but Bonemer has also earned the spotlight with what he’s doing at Birmingham. On Thursday, he launched his fourth Double-A homer, and for a player who talks about lifting and pulling as the core of his offensive identity, it’s notable that two of those four homers have gone to the opposite field.
Bonemer finished 2-for-4 with the homer and also picked up his first Double-A hit by pitch in Columbus’ 7-1 win over Birmingham. Anthony DePino broke out of an 0-for-19 stretch with a 2-for-4 night that included a triple and two strikeouts.
On the mound, Connor McCullough was sharp for four hitless innings, allowing no runs and striking out seven while walking three. Pierce George had the roughest line of the night, giving up five earned runs on four hits in just one-third of an inning.
Charlotte handled Nashville 9-2, with Rikuu Nishida going 1-for-5 with a double and a strikeout, Edgar Quero finishing 1-for-4 with a walk, and Ryan Galanie going 1-for-5 with three strikeouts. Jonathan Cannon turned in a solid home start, working five innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Tanner McDougal tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout, and Duncan Davitt added three scoreless frames with five strikeouts.
Winston-Salem dropped a 5-4 game to Asheville. Kyle Lodise went 1-for-5 with a strikeout, Tim Elko opened his rehab stint by going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout, George Wolkow was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts, and Ben Hartl singled, walked and struck out twice. Max Banks allowed three runs, two earned, over five innings, giving up two homers, while Seth Keener worked a clean inning with a strikeout.
In the ACL, the Padres beat the White Sox 9-1 in seven innings. Yordani Soto went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, Jose Mendoza was 0-for-4, Eduardo Herrera singled twice and struck out once, and Alejandro Cruz singled, walked and struck out. Cesar Familia left with an injury after hitting the only batter he faced.
Kannapolis at Delmarva was postponed, and DSL White Sox at DSL Cubs Red was also postponed.
In Other News...
Jordan Hicks Is Suddenly Giving White Sox Fans A Reason To Reconsider
Jordan Hicks was easy to overlook earlier this season, especially after a rough start and the lingering questions that have followed him in recent years. Since coming back from a right lat strain, though, the White Sox have seen a very different reliever, one who has piled up seven scoreless innings and looked far more in control of his delivery and his stuff.
The biggest change has been in how Chicago is using him, with tweaks to his arm angle and pitch mix helping unlock the version of Hicks the club hoped it was getting. His fastball is back to missing bats at a high level, sitting around 98 mph, and for a White Sox team that has spent much of the year searching for dependable relief help, that kind of rebound is enough to make people take a second look. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Face Massive No 1 Pick Pressure As Debate Heats Up
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Among the names drawing the most attention is Grady Emerson, the Fort Worth Christian High School shortstop whose advanced bat, defense and athleticism have made him a favorite in some scouting circles. Emersons senior season only strengthened that case, capped by major honors and a standout resume, but the bigger question for the White Sox is whether they lean into that ceiling or go a different direction when the pick finally comes due. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Fans Wont Agree On This Freddy Peralta Trade Return
Freddy Peraltas name has started to surface in deadline chatter as the Mets are expected to sell, and one Bleacher Report proposal tries to sketch out what a return might look like if New York decides to move him. The framework is simple enough: a contender gets a talented arm, while the Mets try to turn a volatile situation into prospect depth, the kind of swap that can look reasonable on paper even before anyone agrees on the price.
For the White Sox, the discussion is less about whether they would like the pitcher and more about how much of the system theyd be willing to part with. The suggested package reaches into the lower half of Chicagos prospect list, and that is where the debate gets interesting, because deals like this usually hinge on whether a front office sees enough upside to justify giving up multiple young players for a name with plenty of value questions attached. [Read more 🡒]