Who is Claudio Simon? Red Sox prospect has stolen 27 bases in 32 Dominican Summer League games: ‘There is no doubt that his speed is legit,’ Eddie Romero says

Red Sox infield prospect Claudio Simon stole his 27th base of the Dominican Summer League season on Tuesday afternoon.

Batting eighth and starting at third base for the Red Sox’ DSL Red affiliate, Simon went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and a run scored. His stolen base came in the sixth inning of an 8-1 win over the Royals’ DSL Stewart affiliate in El Toro.

Following Tuesday’s performance, the right-handed hitting Simon is now batting .219/.310/.281 with two doubles, one triple, one home run, 10 RBIs, 21 runs scored, 11 walks, and 35 strikeouts over 32 games (129 plate appearances) this season.

While those numbers might not seem all that impressive, Simon’s 27 stolen bases rank second in the Dominican Summer League behind only the Yankees’ Fidel Montero, who has swiped 28 bags. Coming into play on Tuesday, he ranked seventh in the DSL in speed score (9.3), per FanGraphs.

Simon, 20, originally signed with the Red Sox for just $5,000 as an international free-agent coming out of the Dominican Republic back in December. In his first professional season, the La Romana native has seen playing time at second base, third base, and all three outfield positions.

Outside of his listed height and weight of 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, there is not much information out there on Simon given his relatively low profile. With that being said, I recently reached out to Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero to ask about Simon and his propensity to steal bases.

“Simon’s speed is one of his best tools,” Romero told BloggingtheRedSox.com via email earlier this month. “It rates at least as a 7 (out of 8) on the scouting scale. He’s improving as a base stealer, reading pitchers, and getting better leads and jumps. However, there is no doubt that his speed is legit. He’s a tremendous athlete.”

Simon, who turns 21 in December, will presumably spend the rest of the season in the Dominican Summer League. If the speedster remains in the organization through the winter, it seems likely he will make the jump to the United States and the Florida Complex League in 2023.

(Picture of Claudio Simon via his Instagram)