Tag: kleyver salazar

Kleyver Salazar among 7 unranked prospects to make Red Sox ‘Spring Breakout’ roster

On Thursday, the Red Sox unveiled their roster for their upcoming ‘Spring Breakout’ matchup against the Rays next week.

While Boston will be sending a plethora of top talents from a loaded farm system to Port Charlotte for the second annual prospects showcase next Thursday, several unheralded Red Sox minor-leaguers will be making the trip from Fort Myers as well.

Of the 27 players on the Red Sox ‘Spring Breakout’ roster, seven are not currently ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline. Of those seven, 18-year-old catcher Kleyver Salazar stands out as someone who has yet to suit up for a full-season affiliate.

Salazar, who turns 19 in May, is the younger brother of former Red Sox (and current Cardinals minor-leaguer) Johnfrank Salazar. The native Venezuelan originally signed with Boston for $175,000 as an international free agent in January 2023 and made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League before moving up to the Florida Complex League in 2024.

In 49 games (183 plate appearances) for the FCL Red Sox, Salazar batted .226/.333/.374 with seven doubles, two triples, four home runs, 31 RBIs, 22 runs scored, two stolen bases, 25 walks and 40 strikeouts. The right-handed hitter ended his season on a particularly high note by slashing .313/.389/.500 with three home runs and 15 RBIs over 20 games (72 plate appearances) in July.

Though a .708 OPS (95 wRC+) on the year is far from eye-popping, Salazar did rank 21st in isolated power (.148) and 32nd in walk rate (13.7 percent) among 71 qualified FCL hitters, per FanGraphs. He also led the way in fly-ball rate (55.7 percent), which suggests that he may have gotten under the ball quite a bit.

Defensively, Salazar split his playing time on the field between catcher and first base last year. The 6-foot-1, 187-pound backstop logged a team-high 168 2/3 innings behind the plate for the FCL Red Sox, allowing eight passed balls and throwing out 14 of 49 possible base stealers. In 16 starts as a first baseman, he committed just two errors in 98 chances.

Salazar joins Brooks Brannon and Ronald Rosario to make up the catching contingent on Boston’s ‘Spring Breakout’ roster. He is currently projected by SoxProspects.com to return to the FCL for the start of the 2025 season, though his assignment could change to Low-A Salem if fellow backstop Johanfran Garcia (who underwent season-ending ACL surgery last May) is not fully ready to go when camp breaks next month.

(Picture of Kleyver Salazar: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox lose versatile prospect with intriguing profile to Cardinals in minor-league phase of Rule 5 Draft

Of the three position players the Red Sox lost in the minor-league phase of Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft, Johnfrank Salazar — who was scooped up by the Cardinals — may have the highest ceiling.

Salazar originally signed with the Red Sox for $400,000 as an international free agent coming out of Venezuela in August 2019. The Barcelona native came into the 2023 season ranked by SoxProspects.com as the No. 37 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Despite making his way to Low-A Salem last year, Salazar began his season in the rookie-level Florida Complex League. That likely had something to do with the fact that the Red Sox were working on converting the 20-year-old infielder into a catcher.

Having already faced FCL competition in 2022, Salazar unsurprisingly batted a stout .374/.408/.593 with 11 doubles, three home runs, 20 RBIs, 22 runs scored, two stolen bases, five walks, and 12 strikeouts in 25 games (103 plate appearances) for Boston’s Fort Myers-based affiliate. The right-handed hitter then earned another promotion to Salem in late July and slashed .228/.307/.374 with three doubles, five homers, 17 runs driven in, 13 runs scored, 14 walks, and 22 strikeouts in 34 games (137 plate appearances) for the Red Sox.

While a .681 OPS is certainly far from eye-opening, Salazar was at least able to end the 2023 campaign on a strong note by batting .304/.385/.464 with two doubles, three homers, 10 RBIs, seven runs scored, nine walks, and 12 strikeouts in his final 18 games (78 plate appearances) of the year.

Among the 171 hitters in the Carolina League who made at least 130 trips to the plate this past season, Salazar most notably ranked 14th in strikeout rate (16.1 percent), 47th in isolated power (.146), and 61st in line-drive rate (22.2 percent), per FanGraphs. He also produced a 49.5 percent pull rate, indicating that he makes plenty of contact.

As noted in his SoxProspects.com scouting report, though, Salazar rarely misses pitches in the strike zone but still “needs to improve his pitch recognition and quality of contact.” That being the case because he “gets caught out in front too easily by secondary pitches” and “has the tendency to get himself out” as a result.

On the other side of the ball, Salazar made his professional debut as a shortstop in the Dominican Summer League two years ago but has since diversified his defensive profile. In 2022, for instance, the 6-foot-1, 159-pounder started games at all four infield positions. This past season, he started four games at catcher in the FCL and threw out two of seven would-be base stealers while allowing two passed balls. According to SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall, Salazar mainly played first base, second base, and third base upon moving up to Salem because of his struggles behind the plate. At the Red Sox’ fall performance program in September, he was treated as a super-utility player.

To that end, it remains to be seen how the Cardinals will utilize Salazar moving forward. Salazar, who does not turn 21 until next August, had been projected by SoxProspects.com to return to Salem in 2024, so he could be headed for St. Louis’ Low-A affiliate in Palm Beach, Fla. when the minor-league season begins in April.

Salazar is the older brother of Kleyver Salazar, a 17-year-old catcher who signed with the Red Sox for $175,000 back in January. A right-handed hitter like his big brother, Kleyver batted .240/.378/.347 with one home run and 18 RBIs in 36 games (151 plate appearances) for Boston’s DSL Blue affiliate. He put up those numbers while gunning down 20 of 55 potential base stealers.

(Picture of Johnfrank Salazar: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)