Up first is 19 year old right handed pitcher Angel Bastardo. Angel was 3-1 for the Dominican Red Sox as a 16 year old in 2019 although he struggled as an 18 year old last year in the rookie league. This year he's 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA in 6 starts. Competition is going to get tougher from here on out for Angel but so far it looks like he can handle it.
Up next is 23 year old right handed pitcher Adenys Bautista. For those that don't remember, he was the prospect the Sox traded Sandy Leon for in December of 2019. He only pitched in 3 games last year but has struck out 17 batters in 13 innings to start this season for Salem. Hopefully he keeps improving because it would be a shame to trade Leon for nothing.
Up next is 22 year old right handed pitcher Maceo Campbell. He was an undrafted rookie free agent signed in 2020 out of Longwood College and struck out 16 guys in the Rookie League last year. So far this year he's 2-1 with a 3.14 ERA and if he continues to improve, the fact they basically picked his name out of a hat would be a steal.
Up next is 21 year old right handed pitcher Felix Cepeda. He was signed as a Dominican League teenager in 2018 but is struggling so far this season. He's only 21 so he's got time to show what he can do but getting lit up by Single A pitching isn't a good look.
Up next is 19 year old right handed pitcher Nathanael Cruz. Cruz signed at the age of 16 back in 2019 but has been injured this season after pitching in just one game. We'll see how he turns out once he gets off the injured list.
Up next is 24 year old right handed pitcher Osvaldo De La Rosa. He was arguably Lowell's best pitcher in 2019 but has struggled in 16 games pitched since then. He hasn't been the same since Covid hit and he may be on his way out once the 2022 Draft is over next month.
Up next is injured 22 year old right handed pitcher Hunter Dobbins. He was drafted in the 8th round out of Texas Tech last year but had undergone Tommy John surgery and missed the whole season. He's still recovering from it and won't pitch until at least July. Like I mentioned a year ago, if the Sox can get anything out of him, its a miracle.
Up next is 21 year old right handed pitcher Juan Daniel Encarnacion. He signed as a teenager back in 2018 and has struggled so far this season. The Sox have so many Dominican pitchers because of the lack of depth due to Covid in 2020 and other needs in 2021. If he doesn't work out there's always this coming draft to get it right.
Up next is 23 year old right handed pitcher Jhonny Felix. The Sox signed him as a rookie free agent after last year's draft and he's allowed 20 runs in 12 2/3 innings since. At least the Sox didn't waste a draft pick on him if he's going to be THIS bad in Single A.
Up next is 20 year old pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez. As with most every other pitcher, he was signed as a teenager out of Venezuela and started in 2019. He did well as a 19 year old callup last season and is 1-1 with a 2.29 ERA in 6 starts this season. Him and Bastardo could be the future if they keep up this pace.
Up next is 20 year old right handed pitcher Gabriel Jackson. He did well as an 18 year old in 2019 for the Dominican Sox but has allowed 17 runs in 15 innings so far to start the season. There's plenty of time to turn it around but with other guys showing more promise, he needs to pick up the development.
Up next is 23 year old right handed pitcher Matt Litwicki. He was Boston's 10th round pick last year out of Indiana University and he's been injured almost every year since 2018. He's still recovering from Tommy John surgery so nobody knows when he'll be pitching for Salem.
Up next is 21 year old right handed pitcher Blake Loubier. Blake was drafted in the 13th round back in 2019 and has allowed 38 runs in 43 innings since he was drafted. Like mentioned earlier, if he doesn't pick up the pace he'll be released for sure. There are more Dominican teenagers and college pitchers in this coming draft that'll be happy to replace him.
Up next is 24 year old right handed pitcher Alexander Montero. He was drafted as a 20 year old in 2017 and has been straight batting practice since. He's allowed 9 runs in 9 innings this year and if he can't figure out Single A hitters at 24 years old, he may not be around much longer.
Up next is 22 year old right handed pitcher Barbaro Pinero. If you thought other pitchers on this list were bad check this stat out. He's pitched in 3 games, allowed 11 runs and hasn't recorded an out yet. That's right, his ERA is infinity. This guy better do a better job or he's had it.
Up next is 21 year old right handed pitcher Reidis Sena. Another Dominican signing has struck out 31 batters in 22 1/3 innings, that's good for something. Just need to lower his ERA from 3.22 to about 2.22 and he should earn a promotion to Greenville sooner rather than later.
Up next is 24 year old right handed pitcher Joey Stock. He was an undrafted minor league free agent in 2020 and he dominated the rookie league and did well in his call up to Salem last season. So far he's been one of Salem's best pitcher's this season so he could be the first to earn a call up to Greenville.
Up next is the pitching staff's elder statesman, 25 year old right handed pitcher Miguel Suero. Suero has been straight batting practice since being called up to Salem last year. If he doesn't lower his ERA in the next few months he'll be out of here.
Up next is local hero, 23 year old right handed pitcher Nate Tellier. He was an undrafted rookie free agent out of Umass Dartmouth in 2020 and looked good in his short stint in Salem last year. Unfortunately he's been hammered this season although its only May. If he can turn it around he could possibly be the next Manny Delcarmen.
Up next is 23 year old right handed pitcher Christopher Troye. He was Boston's 12th round draft pick last year out of USC Santa Barbara but hasn't pitched yet this season due to injury. He's prone to walk as many batters as he strikes out so hopefully he learns control when he gets off the injured list.
Up next was last year's 19th round pick, 22 year old right handed pitcher Tyler Uberstine out of Northwestern University. Despite being drafted in the 19th round, Uberstine finished 2021 strong by posting a 1.17 ERA in the rookie league. This season he's 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA as a starter and looks pretty good. If he ever makes the majors it would be a hell of an underdog story considering he was the 555 guys were drafted ahead of him, including 18 by the same team that drafted him.
Proving doubters wrong so far
Up last on the mound is last year's 14th round pick, 23 year old right handed pitcher Jacob Webb out of Miami Ohio University. The 6'5 brute has struck out 24 guys in 12 innings and was compared to Steve Crawford when he was drafted. He's 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA so hopefully he can continue to improve.
Moving on to the position players, we begin with 22 year old catcher Jonathan Diaz. Diaz signed as a teenager and hit .282 in 11 games last season once he got to Salem. He's currently on the Development List and hasn't played yet this season. Salem already has 3 catchers on the squad so it makes sense to save one of them for when the rookie league starts.
Up next is 24 year old catcher Jose Garcia. Garcia was Dave Dombrowski's 38th round pick back in 2017 but ended up going to Florida International University. He resigned with the Sox in 2020 and played 21 games last season. He's only hitting .179 so far this season so he may be on his way out with Diaz waiting in the wings.
Up next is last year's 5th round draft pick, 22 year old catcher Nathan Hickey out of Florida University. He played in just 11 games last season and is currently hitting .259 in 16 games so far this season. The Sox need a catcher of the future for when Christian Vazquez leaves or gets old, Hickey may compete with some others in the system for a chance.
Rounding out the catching corps is 21 year old catcher Yorberto Mejicano. He signed as a teenager in 2019 and had 17 hits in 18 games last season. So far he's hitting .220 in 13 games so far this season. The Sox need one of these catchers to step up and it could be Mejicano moving forward.
Moving on to the infielders we start with 19 year old shortstop Brainer Bonaci. Bonaci signed with the Sox on his 16th birthday back in 2018 and he hit .224 in 13 games last year. This year he's hitting .265 in 19 games this year. He's only 19 so he'll have plenty of chances to show what he's got.
Up next is 2020's 3rd round pick, 19 year old third baseman Blaze Jordan. Jordan went viral as a teenager for hitting tape measure home runs and hit 6 home runs in 28 games last year. This year he's hitting .245 with 2 home runs and 14 rbis in 27 games so far this year. Jordan could be a stud in the future if his power carries over to future promotions.
Up next is last year's 11th round pick, hulking 23 year old first baseman Niko Kavadas from Notre Dame University. Kavadas had 6 hits in 7 games last year for Salem and so far this year he's hitting .272 with 2 home runs and 11 rbis in 26 games so far this year. A lot of the Sox' draft picks from last year are on Salem's team this year so this could be an important year for those guys.
Up next is the chosen one, 19 year old shortstop and 4th overall pick in last year's draft Marcelo Mayer. The end result of Chaim Bloom's tanking in 2020 has been as good as advertised so far. He's hitting .328 with 10 rbis in 14 games. The Sox may lose Xander Bogaerts either by trade or free agency and if Trevor Story sucks, fans will be counting down the days until Mayer hits Boston. Hopefully he can come along at his own pace and he may be in Greenville sooner than later.
Next up is last year's 9th round pick, 22 year old third baseman Tyler Miller from Auburn University. The good news is Miller already has 3 home runs in 24 games but the bad news is he's only hitting .188 with 40 strikeouts. If he's one of these launch angle guys that's either home run or nothing, the Sox already have Bobby Dalbec to strike out 500 times with 20 homers. Hopefully Miller can make better contact as he continues to develop.
Up next is 19 year old shortstop Eddinson Paulino. He's only hitting .261 so far this season but he was never as highly rated as Mayer. If Mayer goes to Greenville, he needs to pick up the pace if he wants to be the starting shortstop for Salem. He does have 30 hits in 27 games so hopefully he can keep on hitting.
Last up for the infielders is Dave Dombroski's 25th round pick in 2019, 20 year old shortstop Karson Simas. Simas hit .310 in the Rookie League last year but is only hitting .196 in 14 games so far this season. He was drafted as an 18 year old so he'll get every chance in the world to prove himself.
We got 5 players left and they are all outfielders. First up is 20 year old outfielder Eduardo Lopez. So far he has 4 home runs in 16 games so far this season including one on his recently celebrated 20th birthday. The Salem Sox need power hitters so the more he drives out of the yard, the better.
Up next is 22 year old outfielder Kier Meredith. Kier was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of high school in 2017 but decided to go to Clemson University. He went undrafted and the Sox signed him for $20,000 last July. So far for a cheap rookie free agent he has 8 hits in 10 games and 4 steals. He could be the ultimate underdog story of all time...or just another statistic. Time will tell.
Up next is last year's 18th round pick, 23 year old outfielder Phillip Sikes out of Texas Christian University. As mentioned last year he was a high school pitcher turned college outfielder and he tore up the Rookie League hitting .392 with 18 rbis in 2021. Unfortunately he's only hitting .204 with 22 strikeouts. 18th round picks aren't exactly can't miss so it would be unfair to expect him to hit .392 again at a higher level. We'll see how he turns out.
Next up on the list is 19 year old right fielder Miguel Ugueto. He signed as a 16 year old out of Venezuela and last year he hit .331 in the Rookie League. This year he's off to a good start hitting .311 in 22 games so far. He hasn't shown much power but slap hitters that get on base are valuable, just ask Brock "The Hitman" Holt.
Last but certainly not least on the roster is 20 year old centerfielder Eduardo Vaughan. He signed as a 16 year old back in 2018 and is currently hitting .222 in 22 games so far this year. He does have 18 walks but 25 strikeouts in only 22 games is concerning. Hopefully he can turn it around before he hits 21.
This year's Salem team is pretty much the last of the Dombrowski international kids and draft picks from the last two years. Chaim Bloom leaned heavily on college kids banking on them being more experienced and ready to shoot up the system. The problem with this roster is there are approximately ZERO left handed pitchers and I don't know who's idea or design this is, but Bloom may want to invest in some lefties in this upcoming draft. Salem Red Sox manager Luke Montz doesn't have any lefties to get left handed batters out so that's also unfair to him too. Still, Mayer looks like the real deal and if some of the other draft picks like Jordan, Kavadas, Hickey, Miller, Sikes and Uberstine do well, this should be a fun team. Keep in mind 3 of the draft picks in Troye, Dobbins and Litwicki haven't pitched yet either so they may help the team if and when they're ready. Like I said earlier, since the Rookie League hasn't started and the Lowell Spinners are gone, you have to earn your keep more than ever. Teams can't hide underperforming prospects like they could in the past. Going 14-15 due to international kids not developing says more about the current regime's inability to draft pitchers than Dombrowski's regime for drafting the kids they did. Still, for now we got Mayer to watch in Salem so at least there's one player to keep interest in the team until this coming draft.
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