Red Sox prospect Enddy Azocar made great strides in 2025. This article will examine how the 18-year-old outfielder fared in his first season stateside.
Originally signed by the Red Sox for just $40,000 as an international free agent out of Venezuela in January 2024, Azocar entered 2025 with very little fanfare after batting .266/.397/.309 in 31 Dominican Summer League games (116 plate appearances) last year to mark his professional debut. As part of his first spring training in Fort Myers, however, the Puerto La Cruz native impressed many and played in the first-ever “Futures at Fenway South” prospect showcase at JetBlue Park on March 14.
“Enddy has had a great spring so far and has caught some attention,” Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero said of Azocar shortly thereafter. “His frame will allow for plenty of strength, and he’s already 6-foot-2 at 18 years old. He did a great job in the offseason of getting stronger, and he’s only starting to fill that frame out. So far this spring, we’re seeing a lot of hard contact with multiple [100-plus mph exit velocities]. It will be very interesting to see him develop this year.”
Indeed, Azocar’s development this year was very interesting. Out of the chute, the young right-handed hitter slashed .385/.448/.558 with seven doubles, one triple, five RBIs, six runs scored, four stolen bases, six walks, and 11 strikeouts in 14 games (58 plate appearances) for the rookie-level Florida Complex League Red Sox. He leveraged that strong early performance into a promotion to Low-A Salem in late May.
Upon making the jump from the FCL to the pitcher-friendly Carolina League, Azocar had a rough time of things for the most part. In 71 games for Salem, he batted .202/.273/.314 with nine doubles, one triple, six home runs, 26 RBIs, 34 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 21 walks, and 67 strikeouts over 287 plate appearances. At the very least, he ended the season on an encouraging note by going 12-for-36 (.333) in his final nine games.
Between the FCL and Salem, Azocar finished the 2025 campaign having hit .232/.302/.355 with 16 doubles, two triples, his first six professional homers, 31 RBIs, 40 runs scored, 15 stolen bases, 27 walks, and 78 strikeouts over 85 total games (345 plate appearances). That includes a .228/.284/.325 line against righties and a far more favorable .254/.373/.476 line against lefties.
Though the surface-level numbers may not be too appealing, Azocar did manage to stand out with his exit velocity gains this year. As Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes highlighted on Thursday, Azocar raised his 90th percentile exit velocity from 98 mph in 2024 to 105.4 mph in 2025. The 7.4 percent increase represents the largest of any minor league hitter with at least 80 batted-ball events in each of the last two seasons.
“While Azocar struggled with the move to Salem — a notoriously difficult run environment — he still managed to raise his isolated slugging threefold between his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2024 and his 71-game sample in Low-A this year,” Pontes wrote. “A 7-plus mph EV gain in one season for any hitter is impressive, and Azocar’s small sample in the Florida Complex League hints at the validity of those gains when facing age-appropriate competition.”
On the other side of the ball, Azocar saw playing time at all three outfield spots between his stops in the FCL and Salem this season. Altogether, the projectable 6-foot-2, 170-pounder logged 530 2/3 innings in center, 85 1/3 innings in right, and 14 innings in left, committing four errors and recording seven outfield assists in 160 total defensive chances. He also made nine starts at DH.
Azocar, who turns 19 in February, is currently ranked as Boston’s No. 23 prospect by Baseball America, No. 27 by SoxProspects.com, and No. 29 by MLB Pipeline. Barring a trade or other surprise move this winter, Azocar is projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Salem for the start of the 2026 season.
(Picture of Enddy Azocar: Bryan Green/Flickr)
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