Red Sox catching prospect Kleyver Salazar has been named a 2026 Carolina League All-Star, Minor League Baseball announced on Tuesday.
Salazar, 20, enjoyed a breakout season with Low-A Salem, his second at the level. The right-handed hitter batted .293/.403/.479 with 25 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs, 69 RBIs, 60 runs scored, five stolen bases, 60 walks, and 68 strikeouts in 95 games (412 plate appearances) for the RidgeYaks. He posted a .282/.396/.447 line against righties and a .333/.430/.597 line against lefties.
Among 45 qualified hitters in the Carolina League, Salazar finished first in OPS (.882), wOBA (.413), and wRC+ (132). He also ranked second in on-base percentage and slugging percentage, third in batting average, seventh in isolated power (.186) and strikeout rate (16.5%), 10th in line-drive rate (25.8%), and 13th in walk rate (14.6%), according to FanGraphs.
Defensively, Salazar saw 54 of his 94 starts for Salem this season come at catcher. In 459 innings behind the plate, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound backstop allowed 18 passed balls and threw out 31 of 108 would-be base stealers. He also made four error-free starts at first base and 36 starts at DH.
The younger brother of former Red Sox and Cardinals minor leaguer Johnfrank Salazar, Kleyver originally signed with Boston for $175,000 as an international free agent out of Venezuela in January 2023. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League before arriving stateside in 2024. After one season in the Florida Complex League, he struggled to a .603 OPS over 94 games in his first stint with Salem last year. The 2026 campaign, then, represents something of a breakthrough for a player FanGraphs previously described as “a good defensive prospect with no bat.”
Salazar, who does not turn 21 until next May, is not yet ranked among Boston’s top 30 prospects by Baseball America or MLB Pipeline. SoxProspects.com, meanwhile, has him at No. 50 on its top 60 list. Barring a trade or other move this winter, the publication projects that he will make the jump to High-A Greenville to begin the 2027 season.
(Picture of Kleyver Salazar: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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