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What a year 2025 has been for Caleb Bonemer! The 19-year-old infielder wasn’t just impressive in his first full season of pro ball; he rewrote the Cannon Ballers record book in the process. Bonemer was named the 2025 Carolina League Most Valuable Player and a Carolina League All-Star, becoming the first player in Kannapolis Cannon Ballers history to win the league’s MVP award.
From Opening Day until his late-season call-up to Winston-Salem, Bonemer was a force on the diamond. In 96 games with Kanny, the Michigan native amassed a .281 batting average while leading the team in almost every stat that mattered, including hits (98), doubles (26), walks (68), on-base percentage (.400), slugging percentage (.458), and OPS (.858). The on-base, slugging, and OPS numbers didn’t just pace Kannapolis; they topped the entire Carolina League.
Fans who packed Atrium Health Ballpark this summer saw a player who always seemed to be on base. His .400 OBP ranks among the top five in franchise history, and his 27-game on-base streak from April 30 to June 4 was the third-longest ever for a Cannon Baller. Night after night, Bonemer showed up, gave the Ballers a chance to win, and more often than not, he delivered.
A second-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox, Bonemer came to Kannapolis with plenty of buzz. He had already earned two Gatorade Player of the Year awards in Michigan and passed up a chance to play college ball at Virginia to begin his pro career. This summer, he made the White Sox draft scouts look like geniuses.
Now a Top-100 guy per MLB Pipeline (No. 83), Bonemer got the bump to the Dash in late August, but not before stamping his name all over the Kannapolis record books. Tim Elko (2023), Caden Connor (2024), and Rikuu Nishida (2024) all got previous All-Star nods, but Bonemer is the very first to bring home the MVP hardware.
Could Bonemer be the real deal and the next South Side superstar? With his young age, he’s not projected to hit Chicago until 2028, but if he continues to play like this, he could force the issue sooner rather than later. Regardless, it will surely be exciting to see what Bonemer has in store for 2026, but one thing’s for sure: 2025 will be remembered as the year he became a star in Kannapolis.
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