The Daily Briefing — Wednesday, August 26
By Morgan Davis ·
Caleb Bonemer: 3-for-5, Homer, 4 RBI at Birmingham
Caleb Bonemer went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, four RBI, and two walks Tuesday night at Birmingham. Over the last 30 days, he’s slashed .281/.412/.708 with 10 home runs, seven doubles, 27 RBI, and a 16.0% walk rate in 119 plate appearances. That is not a hot week masking a thin profile; it is a sustained assault. The primary scouting concern with Bonemer’s bat has always been contact consistency, the worry being that his power-oriented swing can get long and leave him vulnerable to elevated velocity or quality spin. His contact rate over this stretch is 74.2% and his swing rate has actually pulled back to 40.4%, a meaningful shift from his 43.5% season mark, which means he has been getting more selective while still inflicting real damage. The 60 power grade already looks conservative based on the production; what this last month is testing is the 50 hit tool, which could prove tight if the zone management is genuinely dialed in rather than circumstantially hot.
On the season across 520 combined plate appearances between High-A and Double-A, Bonemer is slashing .255/.387/.571 with 34 home runs, a 14.0% walk rate, and a 26.7% strikeout rate. The strikeout number is the one worth watching; it has dipped to 23.5% over the last 30 days alongside the more selective approach, which suggests he may be finding a better contact-to-damage balance rather than just running on favorable sequencing.
Defensively, there is talk he may get some reps in center field in the Arizona Fall League. The White Sox have depth at third base and Bonemer won’t play short at the highest level. His run tool is likely light for center so he may end up in left field when all is said and done. The ceiling conversation is legitimate for a 20-year-old who already has 34 home runs across two levels. He sits at #24 in our Top 100 and that may be light.
Quick Hits
Rainiel Rodriguez, C, Cardinals (AA, Springfield) · #19 · crushed two home runs in a 2-for-5 effort Tuesday, his 10th multi-homer game stretch at Double-A over the last 30 days. The 19-year-old right-handed catcher is slashing .460/.490/.931 over that same span with 10 home runs, 11 doubles, and 22 RBI in 96 plate appearances, contact rate up to 81.6% despite a 55.6% swing rate. On the full season across 463 combined plate appearances between High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield, he sits at .322/.406/.573 with 23 home runs and 74 RBI. The 60 power grade was always credible; the question of how the 50 hit tool holds against sustained Double-A quality looks less pressing every week.
Kane Kepley, OF, Cubs (AA, Knoxville) · #298 · reached base four times on a homer, two walks, and a hit by pitch in six plate appearances Tuesday, striking out twice. The 22-year-old left-handed center fielder has been operating at a different level since his Double-A promotion: .271/.495/.557 over the last 30 days with five home runs, 25 walks, and just 15 strikeouts across 101 plate appearances, a 24.8% walk rate that pairs with a 29.3% swing rate. On the combined season across 521 plate appearances between High-A South Bend and Double-A Knoxville, he has drawn 112 walks, stolen 61 bases, and posted a .444 on-base percentage. The 35 power grade was always the honest limitation; what the last month is doing is raising the question of whether even fringe game pop is enough when the on-base and speed combination is this consistent against Double-A arms.
Liam Doyle, LHP, Cardinals (AA, Springfield) · #73 · held Double-A hitters scoreless over 5.1 innings Tuesday, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out six, generating 17 whiffs on 87 pitches. The 22-year-old left-hander's last 30 days in Springfield are genuinely striking: a 1.37 ERA, 39 strikeouts, a 39.4% strikeout rate, and a 0.87 WHIP across 26.1 innings in five starts, with his strike rate climbing to 52.1%. The season ERA sits at 3.90 across 92.1 innings, a number the last month of data is aggressively undercutting. A 60-grade fastball sitting 95-98 paired with a 60-grade slider is already a bat-missing combination at this level; Tuesday's five whiffs short of a dominant nine-inning line reflects just how locked in the arsenal has been.
David Hagaman, RHP, Diamondbacks (AA, Amarillo) · #322 · struck out 10 over 5.2 innings against Double-A hitters Tuesday, allowing four hits, two earned runs, and two walks on 87 pitches. The 23-year-old right-hander is putting together a strong Double-A debut: a 2.05 ERA with 32 strikeouts and a 36.8% strikeout rate across four starts and 22 innings at Amarillo. The last 30 days across both stops show a 1.93 ERA, 42 strikeouts, and a 37.5% K rate over 28 innings, with a 37.6% whiff rate. A mid-90s fastball sitting 95-98 backed by two distinct breaking balls gives him the arsenal to keep generating these numbers, and Tuesday was his strongest strikeout outing since the promotion.
Vahn Lackey, C, Twins (A+, Cedar Rapids) · #17 · went 3-for-6 with a homer and three RBI in his first game at the High-A level Tuesday, also drawing two walks and posting a clean plate in the stolen base column. The 21-year-old right-handed catcher's season line at Low-A Fort Myers showed a .204/.389/.370 clip with 14 walks and just 16 strikeouts in 72 plate appearances, a 19.4% walk rate that fits the patient approach described in his profile. A 65 arm grade and 60 defensive grade at catcher are the foundation; Tuesday's debut at Cedar Rapids was an immediate offensive statement for the 2026 third-overall pick.
Drew Burress, OF, Athletics (A, Stockton) · #51 · went 2-for-4 with a triple, a homer, an RBI, and a walk Tuesday without a strikeout. The 21-year-old right-handed outfielder, a first-round pick, is slashing .306/.469/.694 with six home runs, four doubles, and a 19.8% walk rate across 81 plate appearances in his first 17 professional games at Low-A Stockton. A 36.8% swing rate is the most selective mark among the day's hitters and pairs with a 55 hit tool and 60 power grade to paint a profile that is already outrunning the typical new-pro learning curve. Whether he stays in center field or slides to right field as the profile matures, the offensive foundation is already doing real work.
Patrick Forbes, RHP, Diamondbacks (A+, Hillsboro) · #299 · punched out eight batters over 3.2 innings of hitless relief Tuesday, walking nobody and generating 14 whiffs on 52 pitches, 31 of which were strikes. The 22-year-old right-hander now carries a 2.55 ERA and a 34.7% strikeout rate across nine High-A starts, with a 0.85 WHIP and just a 6.3% walk rate. A fastball sitting 95-100 paired with a flashing 55-grade slider gives him the foundation for the mid-rotation projection; Tuesday's efficiency, 31 strikes in 52 pitches with eight strikeouts and zero walks, was his cleanest command performance of the season.
Justin Gonzales, OF, Red Sox (AA, Portland) · #173 · drove in three runs on two hits including a homer in five plate appearances Tuesday, his second home run in five Double-A games since his promotion. The 19-year-old right-handed corner outfielder was slashing .325/.443/.584 with five home runs and a 14.4% walk rate over his last 20 games at High-A Greenville before the jump; the Double-A debut has picked up immediately where that run left off. On the combined season across 445 plate appearances, he is at .276/.393/.478 with 19 home runs and 62 RBI. A 50 hit tool and 55 power grade on a left-field projection look reasonable; the pace of production at 19 keeps the second-division ceiling well in play.
Gavin Grahovac, 3B, Angels (A, Rancho Cucamonga) · #126 · hit two home runs in a 2-for-4 effort Tuesday, driving in three and striking out once. The 21-year-old right-handed third baseman is slashing .286/.392/.571 with five home runs across his first 17 professional games at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga, a 12.2% walk rate backing up the plus raw power projection. His 60 power grade is the carrying tool; Tuesday was his best single-game display of it since turning pro. The contact rate sits at 69.2% with a 49.3% swing rate, a combination that suggests the swing-and-miss risk noted in his profile is real but so is the damage when he connects.
Jacob Bresnahan, LHP, Giants (A+, Eugene) · #369 · fanned 10 batters over six innings Tuesday, generating 21 whiffs on 96 pitches, though he allowed four earned runs on four hits and a walk. The 21-year-old left-hander carries a 2.92 ERA and a 29.7% strikeout rate across 20 High-A starts covering 98.2 innings, with a 1.04 WHIP. Over the last 30 days the ERA stands at 2.51 with 34 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. The 60-grade changeup is his best current offering and was likely behind a significant portion of those 21 whiffs; the slider at 50 is the developmental piece that determines whether a mid-rotation ceiling becomes realistic or the swingman fallback gets a longer look.