The Braves have officially signed Dominican shortstop Edward Salcedo, one of the top unsigned prospects on the planet. Word is that he will start the year off in either Rome(A-) or Myrtle Beach(A+).
In 2007, “Perfect Game USA” stated that Salcedo had first round talent if he were eligible for the draft. This is two years later and the Braves were the first to the punch since foreign players are not eligible to be drafted. Salcedo is an 18-year-old, 6'3" shortstop with power potential and he uses his long reach to his advantage defensively.
Earlier this offseason Keith Law ranked the Braves’ farm system fifth overall and the addition of Salcedo should move them up a spot or two at least.
With Yunel Escobar entrenched as the shortstop and Chipper Jones’ career winding down, it is easy to assume that one of Escobar or Salcedo will eventually man the hot corner in Atlanta.
Whether it is Escobar, who will be 29 or 30 by Sacledo’s Major League debut, or Salcedo does not matter as both are bigger than the average shortstop and should handle the transition smoothly.
Salcedo is easily a top 10 prospect for the Braves. Personally, I would rank him sixth behind Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino, and Craig Kimbrel.
The Braves have been scouting hard in the Caribbean and it is starting to pay off. Julio Teheran is another example of a top notch Caribbean prospect signed in the past few years.
Baseball America’s top 100 prospects were released today with Jason Heyward as No. 1, Freddie Freeman No. 32, Julio Teheran No. 51, and Arodys Vizcaino No. 69.
his is a great young group with a few power arms and power bats. With Salcedo now officially a Brave, they now have a top notch infield prospect, something that could definitely come in handy in the next few years.
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