The Chicago White Sox currently have 10 prospects playing in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) for the Glendale Desert Dogs.

The AFL is an annual league that serves as an extension of the minor league regular season, allowing some of baseball’s top prospects to continue their development against elite competition as they work their way toward the big leagues.

For some pitchers, it’s an opportunity to get additional innings under their belts. For position players, it could mean getting more at-bats or working on their defensive development. Whatever the case may be, the goal is to give prospects valuable experience in the areas their organizations believe will help them take another step closer to The Show.

All 10 White Sox prospects are playing for Glendale, where they’re teammates with prospects from the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

And so far, no White Sox prospect has been more impressive in Arizona than Caleb Bonemer.

Bonemer is one of the most exciting prospects baseball has to offer.

The 2026 season was his age-20 campaign, and he hit 37 home runs with a .930 OPS across two levels of minor league baseball, with the majority of his at-bats coming at Double-A Birmingham.

A former second-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, Bonemer is now the No. 27 prospect in all of baseball. He’s an exceptional athlete, a prolific hitter, and appears to have legitimate superstar potential.

The question isn’t if Caleb Bonemer will make it to Chicago, but when he’ll arrive and where he’ll be playing when he does.

The White Sox already have a star-studded infield. And after selecting UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the first overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, Chicago added another talented infielder who might not be far from reaching the big leagues himself.

With Bonemer potentially making his MLB debut at some point in 2027, the White Sox decided to experiment with playing him in the outfield toward the end of the regular season at Double-A Birmingham.

Bonemer ultimately started nine games and played roughly 80 innings in center field for the Barons after spending the majority of his season playing third base and shortstop.

That’s part of what made the Arizona Fall League such a logical next step in his development.

Not only does it provide Bonemer with additional at-bats against high-level competition, but it also gives him an opportunity to gain valuable in-game experience in the outfield as the White Sox explore different ways to get his bat into their lineup.

In six games for Glendale this fall, Bonemer is batting .333 with a .949 OPS. He has three doubles, a triple, and, as expected, has been one of the best hitters in the league.

Notably, he’s also made starts at all three outfield positions.

The majority of his innings have come in center field, just as they did in Birmingham. But Bonemer is starting to gain experience all over the outfield, and that versatility could help expedite his path to Chicago.

One of the areas the White Sox still need to address heading into 2027 is figuring out what their outfield will look like.

There could be some turnover, with Randal Grichuk headed for free agency and the organization potentially moving on from a veteran like Andrew Benintendi.

There’s Tristan Peters, who made the American League All-Star team as a center fielder but still has to prove he can sustain that success for another season. There’s Sam Antonacci, the ultimate table setter in the White Sox lineup, but not a natural left fielder. And there’s Braden Montgomery, a young player with tremendous potential and all the tools in the world, who the White Sox will be hoping takes a significant step forward next season.

That doesn’t mean Chicago won’t look to add established veteran bats to the mix through free agency. But it also doesn’t mean a prospect like Bonemer can’t upset the apple cart.

In fact, Bonemer’s best opportunity to reach Chicago in the early stages of 2027 and receive regular at-bats might come as an outfielder.

And it certainly helps his case that he’s continuing to hit the ball with authority while gaining valuable defensive experience all over the diamond in the Arizona Fall League.