First up is 22 year old right handed pitcher Matt Duffy. Sox GM Chaim Bloom felt that his 6-3, 4.32 ERA performance his senior year at Canisius College up in Buffalo was worth spending a fourth round pick on. He pitched in just three games to end last year and so far this year he's allowed 7 runs in 11 innings. There's a reason why Bloom is no longer the GM and if Duffy doesn't develop, just chalk it up to Bloom's incompetence. If he does, then its good news for Boston.
Speaking of fourth round picks, 20 year old right handed pitcher Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz was chosen in that round back in 2021 as a Puerto Rican high schooler. Rodriguez dazzled the Florida Complex League and 2 starts in Salem in 2022 before becoming Salem's ace in 2023. He was 6-3 with a 2.60 ERA in 14 starts and begins this season in Salem at least to start. So far he's allowed 6 runs in 16 innings but the season is young. Its just a matter of time before he's in Greenville.
Its gut check time for 20 year old right handed pitcher Luis Cohen. This will be his first season at the A level and so far he's 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA. Obviously he's got all season to turn it around but it doesn't look good so far. Former Sox GM Chaim Bloom doesn't have a great track record and if Cohen doesn't develop then chalk it up to another Bloom miss fire.
20 year old right handed pitcher Jedixon Paez had a good showing last year as a 19 year old going 5-5 with a 3.31 ERA for Salem and needs to step it up this year if he wants to go to Greenville. So far he's allowed 7 runs in 9 innings but the year is young. Let's see if he can reach back to last year's success as this season move's forward.
23 year old left handed pitcher Noah Dean was taken in the 5th round back in 2022 and was batting practice for Salem last season, going 2-8 with a 6.29 ERA in 17 starts. This year he's allowed 4 runs in 7 innings already and once again, taking a look at Chaim Bloom's track record doesn't make this pick look any better. If he's struggling to get Low A batters out, how's he ever going to get High A or beyond?
One of the main reasons why former Sox GM Chaim Bloom gets such a bad rap is he drafted pitchers that weren't even good in college. 23 year old right handed pitcher Blake Wehunt was 4-4 with a 4.83 ERA at Kennesaw State before being taken in the 9th round in the draft last year. If he was struggling in college, what was he going to do in the pros? So far this season he's been perfectly mediocre, you get what you pay for. Can't expect much here.
22 year old right handed pitcher Max Carlson was taken in the 12th round last year after posting a 5.45 ERA his senior year at North Carolina. Would you be surprised to hear that he's allowed 8 runs in 12 innings so far between Salem and Greenville? No? Once again, thank you Chaim Bloom. There's still time to turn it around, but still.
Francis Hernandez
Royman Blanco
You gotta feel sorry for the career arc of 22 year old right handed pitcher Francis Hernandez. He won 9 games for the Florida Complex Sox back in 2022 and was 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA last year. This year he started in Salem and has been an unmitigated disaster. He's allowed 20 runs in 13 innings and has an ERA of 11.48. He better turn it around in a hurry because there's plenty of Dominican kids and this year's upcoming draft class that would be more than happy to take his place.
Believe it or not, 23 year old right handed pitcher Royman Blanco is the oldest tenured player in the entire minor league organization. He was drafted as a Dominican teenager back in 2017 and spent the next FIVE years playing for the DoSox. He allowed 9 runs in 7 innings for Salem last year but so far he's allowed 4 runs in 10 innings. Hey, at least its an improvement. To put things in perspective, he was signed the same year the Sox drafted Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford.
21 year old right handed pitcher Nathanael Cruz was another Dominican teenager signed by former Sox GM Dave Dombrowski. He may not be long for the team as his velocity has gone from 95-97 in the last couple of years down to 91-93 and not surprisingly, he's allowed 12 runs in 9 innings so far. Losing velocity is a death sentence for a pitcher already struggling in the minors. Hope he can snap out of it.
The good news is Chaim Bloom did manage to draft a lefthanded pitcher in the draft last year in the 14th round. The great news is 21 year old Jojo Ingrassia has allowed just 2 runs in 10 innings so far this season with 16 strikeouts. He only throws 92 so ironically he's more like current Sox GM Craig Breslow. Having a control pitcher that doesn't walk people would be a huge addition to any team. If he keeps up the good work he'll be in Greenville soon.
Bloom drafted Ingrassia in the 14th round last year but in the 8th round he took 22 year old right handed pitcher Trennor O'Donnell. He's allowed no runs in 7 innings with 12 strikeouts so far this season. He also tops out at 92 with good control so he's the right handed version of Ingrassia. That's a 1-2 punch Salem is going to need going forward and hopefully Greenville.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is 20 year old right handed pitcher Denis Reguillo. He was signed as a Dominican teenager in January of 2022 and has been straight batting practice since. He allowed 42 runs in 57 innings between the Dominican Sox and Florida Complex in 2022 & 2023 and has allowed 5 runs in 7 2/3 innings so far this season. He's only 20 so he should get some time to develop but if he can't get low A batters out, it doesn't look good for High A and beyond.
Remember how I said Chaim Bloom drafted pitchers that weren't even good in college? 23 year old CJ Weins posted a 1-2 record with a 4.35 ERA for Western Kentucky out of the bullpen and Bloom felt that was good enough to use a 6th round pick on last year. So far this season he's allowed 2 runs in 4 innings but the season just started. This will be his first full pro season so let's see how he does.
Danny Kirwin
Michael Sansone
One thing is for sure about current Sox GM Craig Breslow, he's willing to try anything to win. Knowing their Dominican prospects were faltering and Bloom's draft picks weren't getting it done, Breslow has signed some indy leaguers to see what he can do. 24 year old Danny Kirwin was Rider University's closer in 2023 before going undrafted that July. He was playing for the Indy Ballers when he was signed by Breslow a week ago. He's allowed a run in two innings so far but he just got here. Let's see how he does long term before judging.
24 year old left handed pitcher Michael Sansone went undrafted in 2022 after posting a 4.48 in 11 starts for Fairfield University but was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays. Last year he was 3-3 with a 3.49 ERA in 15 games out of the bullpen for the Charleston River Dogs. For some reason that wasn't good enough for Tampa so they released him. He was playing for the Yolo High Wheelers in the indy leagues before Breslow signed him and Danny Kirwin. He's thrown 3 scoreless innings so far so let's see how he does with this change of scenery.
22 year old right handed pitcher Luis Talavera was signed as a Dominican teenager in 2018 and was 0-2 with a 4.83 ERA in Salem last season. This year he starts the season on the injured list so we'll have to wait to see how he does. He can hit 95 on the gun with sink ability but doesn't really blow batters away. Time will tell on this one.
20 year old right handed pitcher Austin Ehrlicher was a "draft and follow" pick in the 18th round back in 2022. In other words, he was Red Sox property even though he was going to pitch for Santa Rosa University for 2023. He never made it to the minors as he suffered an elbow injury and hasn't pitched since July of last year. Reportedly Bloom knew about his injury when he drafted him. He can hit 93 on the gun...if he ever pitches.
20 year old right handed pitcher Elvis Soto was a Dominican teenager signed back in June of 2022 and was 0-3 with a 4.88 ERA in 7 starts with Salem last season. This year he may not pitch due to injury and he's on the 60 Day Injured List to start the season. He's only 20 so we're going to have to wait to see how he turns out.
Johanfran Garcia
Brooks Brannon
Albert Feliz
Nazzan Zanetello
If Kyle Teel and Nathan Hickey are the catchers of the future, 19 year old catcher Johanfran Garcia wants in on that action. He signed as a Dominican teenager before the 2022 season and hit .303 for the Complex last year. This year so far he's got 15 hits in 45 at-bats including 2 home runs. He's off to a good start, hopefully he can keep it up.
Justin Reimer
22 year old Justin Reimer was yet another Chaim Bloom shortstop drafted in the 4th round in last year's draft. Only one problem, he was drafted after tearing his ACL just 12 games into the season for Wright State University. This year he's starting the season on the Injured List still recovering from the ACL tear. It'll be awhile until we see him so no sense to judge him now.
Speaking of injuries, 20 year old Brooks Brannon was a catcher drafted in the 9th round back in 2022. He hit 20 home runs his senior year of high school and he clocked 6 of them between the Complex and Salem last season. He's on the Injured List to start the season with a knee injury so once again, going to have to wait to judge his performance.
22 year old first baseman Albert Feliz will be the starter for Salem to start this season. He was signed as a Dominican teenager back in 2018 and couldn't hit for beans in 2021 or 2022 for the Complex. He hit just .242 but with 10 home runs for Salem last year and so far this year he only has 8 hits in 63 at-bats. If he's struggling to hit Low A pitching, how is he going to hit High A? He might not be long for this team with 3 months to go before this year's draft.
Marvin Alcantara
Antonio Anderson
Speaking of hitters struggling in Low A, here's 19 year old second baseman Marvin Alcantara. Marvin was signed as a Dominican teenager in January of 2022 and hit just .203 for Salem last year. This year so far he has 11 hits in 70 at-bats and is in the same position as Garcia. But, he's only 19 so judge slowly.
Now here's an interesting prospect. 18 year old third baseman Antonio Anderson was an amateur boxer before being drafted in the 3rd round last year by Chaim Bloom. He hit just .185 last year and has just 7 hits in 70 at-bats so far this season. Like Alcanatara, he's only a teenager so it would be absurd to judge a kid who's just out of high school this quickly. Time will tell how he develops.
One of the biggest critcisms of Chaim Bloom was he drafted nothing but shortstops in the first few rounds every year from 2020-23 and if Anderson isn't the third round wasn't bad enough, Bloom took 18 year old Nazzan Zanetello in the second round 50th overall. So far he has 4 hits in 8 at-bats including a walkoff hit. Things are looking up for him! The problem with all the shortstops in the organization, its going to create a logjam. Someone has to go.
21 year old "Woah" Nelly Taylor was drafted in the 11th round last year after being a standout at Polk State University. He only has 15 hits in 67 at-bats but he's doing better than some of his teammates. This is his first professional season so let's see how he handles the pressure before judging him. Good luck Taylor.
20 year old outfielder Miguel Bleis looked to be a future stud when he tore up the Florida Complex in 2022 after being signed as a Dominican teenager before the 2021 season. Its been all downhill as he hit .230 for Salem last year and has just 13 hits in 66 at-bats this season. Salem's entire team is struggling this season so its not even just Bleis. Still, to go from being one of the top ranked prospects heading into 2023 to doing poorly since is disappointing. He's only 20 so he may turn it around, stay tuned.
19 year old outfielder Natanael Yuten was signed as a Dominican teenager in January of 2022 and tore up the Complex last year before struggling to end the season in Salem. This year so far he's got just 16 hits and 70 at-bats. All these guys are very young and struggling so it may take a year for them to figure it out. Salem's record may not be great but if one of these guys develops, it'll be worth it.
20 year old infielder Andy Lugo might be Salem's best hitter by the end of the season. He was signed as a Dominican teenager in July of 2021 and missed last year with an injury. So far this year he's hitting .308 in 17 games for Salem so far. He hasn't hit any home runs but he's getting on base, that's good for something.
Speaking of last men standing, 21 year old catcher Juan Montero is one of the last of the 2020 rookie free agent class. He played two years with the Complex before hitting .247 for Salem last season. This year he's up to .267 this season so things are looking up. Still, he's got a lot of competition at the catcher position in his way, he's really going to have to step it up big time.
Its been a very trying three years for 2021 6th round draft pick Daniel McElveny. He hit just .167 for Salem in 2022 and just .208 last year with one home run. So far this year he has 2 hits in 8 at-bats and is basically a bench player. What makes this pick worse was McElveny was chosen at pick 166 while fellow Sox prospect Richard Fitts was picked at 183 by New York and Taylor Broadway at 185 by the Chicago White Sox. Hopefully McElveny turns it around, otherwise its just another wasted Bloom pick.
Freili Encarnacion
The mostly highly touted Dominican prospect signed back in January of 2022 was 19 year old shortstop Freili Encarnacion. Unfortunately he had just 6 hits in 33 at-bats for the Complex last year although he has 5 hits in 15 at-bats this year. Maybe he's starting to figure it out, and that's definitely a good thing. Chaim Bloom drafted or signed enough shortstops to last a lifetime. Law of averages means one of them will develop....right?
Fraymi De Leon
Stanley Tucker
Unlike Encarnacion, 19 year old infielder Fraymi De Leon actually did well at the Complex last year. He hit .295 in 29 games although he's hitting just .195 this year. You'd rather have Encarnacion's projection than this but there's still time to turn it around. A 19 year old in Single A needs time to develop so let's see how he turns out.
22 year old outfielder Stanley Tucker was taken in the 19th round in last year's draft after hitting .273 with no home runs for Texas A & M. He managed to hit .195 for the Complex and .077 for Salem after that. This year he does have 6 hits in 25 at-bats so its an improvement. 19th round picks aren't expected to make the majors but it would be fun if Tucker made it. Good luck to him this season.
Diego Viloria
Jhostynxon Garcia
21 year old catcher Diego Viloria had 17 hits in 23 games for the Complex last year after signing as a Dominican teenager in 2019. This year so far he has just 2 hits in 11 at bats but the season just started. Time will tell if he can make it or not. Not being able to hit Low A pitching is a bad sign but again, its early in the year.
21 year old outfielder Jhostnyxon Garcia signed as a Dominican teenager back in 2019 and hit just .230 last year for Salem. This year so far he has 13 hits in 40 at-bats including 2 home runs. He's the older brother of catcher Johanfran Garcia so for the first time since the Basabe twins, we got a pair of brothers on the same team. So far both of them are doing well. Hope they can keep it up.
Salem looks to be in trouble this year with a really young team of Dominican kids and 2023 draft picks. Breslow tried to strengthen the team with some indy leaguers so we'll see how the season turns out from here. They do have some talent in Elmer Cruz but otherwise they're banking on their younger guys to break out. Still, it might be an exciting season for Salem, especially once the 2024 draft is over. Come down to Salem Memorial Ballpark and check them out.
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