Southside Prospect Weekly: Bonemer Keeps Mashing at Birmingham, Lodise's Power Surge
By Gordon Kairis ·
Southside Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the White Sox farm system.
Bonemer's Birmingham Power Keeps Climbing
Caleb Bonemer (AA, SS, Rank: 2) went 6-for-28 with two doubles, three home runs, seven RBI, and five walks this week at Birmingham, extending a home run streak that included back-to-back-to-back multi-game dingers around August 22 and 23. The week fits neatly into a sustained offensive surge in the White Sox system. Over the last 30 days at Double-A, he is slashing .255/.393/.663 with 10 home runs, six doubles, two triples, and 24 RBI across 122 plate appearances. Ten home runs in a month at Double-A from a 20-year-old is not ordinary output. His combined 2026 line across Winston-Salem and Birmingham now reads .251/.383/.561 with 34 home runs, 26 doubles, and 87 RBI in 528 plate appearances, and he crossed the 30-homer threshold before his 21st birthday.
The 60-grade power has always been the carrying tool, and it is playing as advertised. The recent stretch is not just a power display but also shows improvement in his underlying approach: his swing rate has dropped to 40.5 percent over the last month with a contact rate climbing to 72.7 percent, and he drew 20 walks against 31 strikeouts in that stretch. A hitter whose biggest concern has been the pull-heavy, aggressive swing leading to elongated bat paths against quality breaking balls now shows numbers suggesting he is hunting pitches with more patience than earlier in the season. He projects as an everyday impact bat capable of handling multiple up-the-middle or near-up-the-middle positions, and the defensive projection in center field is still a work in progress. But offensively, a 20-year-old with 34 home runs, a .383 on-base percentage, and this kind of month-long tear at Double-A is making the case for an accelerated path to Charlotte on his own.
Lodise Finds His Power Stroke in Winston-Salem
Kyle Lodise (A+, SS, Rank: 11) had a complete offensive week in the system, going 9-for-30 with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI, and six walks across 30 plate appearances at High-A Winston-Salem. The three home runs in a week are a meaningful data point for a profile that has carried a 45-grade power tool and a utility infielder projection. He arrived at Winston-Salem as a contact-and-speed oriented player whose power was expected to be more fringy than significant. The three extra-base hits this week bring his season total to 19 home runs, 19 doubles, and three triples across 484 plate appearances, with a .445 slugging mark for the year. That is not the output of a player who simply fills in around the bases.
The more complete version of Lodise has been building over the last month. Over his last 30 days at High-A, he is hitting with a .425 on-base percentage and a .594 slugging mark, with seven home runs and six doubles in 120 plate appearances. His walk rate is 18.3 percent over that stretch, which fits the patient, 34-percent swing-rate profile he has carried all season. The tradeoff is a K rate that has climbed to 34.2 percent over the last 30 days, a reminder that the power gains are coming with some additional contact risk. He is a 50 hit tool, 45 power player by grade, and I would take the over on both of those right now given what the last month has looked like. The projection as a utility infielder who can fill in at both shortstop and second base still makes sense defensively, with a 45-grade arm that limits him at short long-term. But a 22-year-old with 39 stolen bases, a 17.8 percent walk rate, and 19 home runs at High-A has done enough to push the conversation toward a potential everyday role at second base.
Quick Hits
Samuel Zavala (AA, CF, Rank: 21) · had a week defined by patience, drawing six walks against just one strikeout in 15 plate appearances while adding four hits. No extra-base hits or RBI, but his on-base work pushed an already-strong month to a .451 OBP over the last 30 days at Birmingham, with a 19.7 percent walk rate and just a 14.1 percent strikeout rate across 71 plate appearances. The contact and strikeout numbers are the most interesting piece: his 2025 scouting concerns centered on a 27 percent strikeout rate and swing-and-miss against breaking balls, and the recent contact improvement shows real movement on that front, even if the power (.482 slugging over the last month) remains modest for a corner projection.
George Wolkow (A+, OF, Rank: 16) · drove in eight on nine hits, including three doubles, a triple, and a homer across 29 plate appearances at Winston-Salem. The RBI total was the headline, but the 11 strikeouts in 29 PA are a familiar footnote: he carries a 63.4 percent contact rate and a 31.7 percent K rate on the season, with a 52.4 percent swing rate that reflects his aggressive approach. Seven home runs over the last 30 days at High-A push his season total to 22, and the 60-grade raw power is clearly translating. Whether the bat-to-ball ever tightens enough to make him a genuine big-league regular at a corner is the question the organization has been sitting with since he posted a .223 average in 116 games at Low-A in 2025.
Ely Brown (A+, OF, Rank: 45) · collected 10 hits and six RBI without leaving the yard in 31 plate appearances, adding three doubles and three walks. His 81.2 percent contact rate on the season is the carrying number in his profile, and the last 30 days show more of the same: a .366 on-base percentage, 83.8 percent contact rate, and just a 15.2 percent strikeout rate. The power (35-grade) remains the ceiling constraint, with just five home runs across 493 plate appearances this year, but Brown is a patient, contact-first outfielder who reaches base and steals bags, with 21 steals on the season.
Javier Mogollon (A+, 2B, Rank: 20) · went 9-for-30 with five walks and three RBI at Winston-Salem. He has been one of the more productive table-setters at High-A over the last month, posting a .407 on-base percentage with a 17.7 percent walk rate across 124 plate appearances. Four home runs during that stretch suggest the average raw power is making appearances, though his 60.6 percent contact rate and 29.5 percent K rate over the last 30 days are a persistent reminder that the 33 stolen bases come packaged with real swing-and-miss. He was at Kannapolis to start the year and the A+ jump has not derailed his walk rates or baserunning value.
Jeral Perez (A+, 3B, Rank: 14) · went 8-for-25 with a home run and six RBI at Winston-Salem. His season splits tell a divided story: a .264/.371/.416 line at High-A versus a .180/.282/.281 mark at Double-A, where the strikeout rate dropped but the contact quality suffered against better pitching. The recent A+ stretch, a .259/.373/.424 line with three homers over the last 30 days, reads closer to his manageable floor. A 45 hit tool with a 50 power grade means the bar at second base is manageable if the approach stays clean; the Double-A numbers from earlier this year are the version of Perez the organization needs to avoid.
Jaden Woods (AAA, LHP, Rank: 33) · struck out six over 3.1 innings of one-run ball at Charlotte, allowing two hits and two walks. The outing fits a month that has been his best stretch of the season: a 1.46 ERA over nine appearances at Triple-A, with a 43.8 percent strikeout rate and a 58.7 percent strike rate over his last 30 days. His 94-96 mph fastball and 55-grade slider play up in relief, and the last month has looked like the setup-reliever projection rather than the more uncertain starter version from earlier in the year. The combined 4.19 ERA across all three levels in 2026 understates how much better the last nine outings have looked.
Pierce George (AA, RHP, Rank: 30) · worked 3.1 innings of scoreless relief at Birmingham, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out five. His fastball sits 98-103 mph with a 70-grade report, and the 35.4 percent whiff rate over the last 30 days at Double-A backs up what the velo suggests. The season-long ERA at Birmingham (6.38) reflects the command volatility that has followed his raw stuff through every level; the 2.13 ERA over his last nine Double-A appearances is a more current read. The curve is a genuine second weapon at 55, and the cutter gives him a third look, but getting ahead in counts more consistently is the difference between a high-leverage bullpen arm and an up-down depth piece.
Truman Pauley (A, RHP, Rank: 44) · threw six scoreless innings at Kannapolis, scattering two hits with no walks and three strikeouts, generating nine swinging misses on 74 pitches. The command (34 strikes out of 74 pitches) was the story: he is a 35-grade command arm with a 4.2 walk rate on the season, and a clean six-inning outing with zero free passes is not something his 2026 line has produced often. His season ERA sits at 5.47 across 98.2 innings, so one clean start does not move the needle on his up-down profile projection. Still, the nine swinging misses show the bat-missing ability is real even when the command clicks.
Alexander Albertus (A, SS, Rank: 18) · went 6-for-24 with a home run and three walks at Kannapolis. His 55-grade hit tool and 77.6 percent contact rate on the season are the profile's best friends, and the last 30 days show a 80.1 percent contact rate with a 14.7 percent walk rate across 102 plate appearances. He is a utility-infield profile at the end, with below-average speed and a 45-grade power tool that has produced five home runs in 317 plate appearances at Low-A this year, but the on-base ability is real and the contact rates suggest a hitter who can survive at higher levels if the approach holds.
Colby Shelton (AA, SS, Rank: 19) · went 4-for-22 with two home runs and six RBI at Birmingham, adding three walks. His last 30 days at Double-A (a .351 on-base percentage, three homers, 16 percent walk rate) are a step back from the torrid Winston-Salem run he put together earlier in the season, where he slashed .339/.464/.661 with seven home runs in 140 plate appearances. The combined 2026 line is still 21 home runs and 32 doubles in 485 plate appearances, and the 55-grade left-handed power shows up in bursts. The Double-A strikeout rate (27.7 percent over the last month) and contact rate dip suggest the upper level is challenging him more consistently, which fits the profile of a hitter whose value depends on getting his pitch rather than adjusting mid-count.
Roch Cholowsky (A+, SS, Rank: 1) · is confirmed to be out for the remainder of the season at Winston-Salem on August 25 with right wrist soreness. He had appeared in just five games in the two weeks before the placement, going 1-for-18 with five strikeouts across 25 plate appearances. The IL stint comes at an already difficult juncture for Cholowsky: he is hitting .167/.326/.333 in 46 plate appearances at High-A this season, a line that reflects both the aggressive promotion and the hand/wrist fragility that has been part of his profile. How quickly the wrist responds will matter more than the offensive line right now.
Landon Hodge (A, C, Rank: 15) · was assigned to Kannapolis from the ACL White Sox on August 21 in his first promotion to full-season ball. He had posted a .223/.380/.311 line with one home run across 130 plate appearances at the rookie level, drawing walks at a 19.4 percent clip. The promotion gives the 2024 draft pick his first look at Low-A competition; he went 0-for-4 in his first four plate appearances with the Cannon Ballers.