Angel Salome Stats & Scouting Report

AB	3
AVG	0
OBP	0
SLG	0
HR	0

Full name Angel Isaac Salome
Born 06/08/1986 in Santo Domingo Centro, Dominican Republic
Profile Ht.: 5'7" / Wt.: 200 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School George Washington
Debut 09/03/2008
Drafted in the 5th round (136th overall) by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2004 (signed for $210,000).

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Rafeal Gonzalez' former batterymate at George Washington High, C Angel Salome is a 5-foot-10, 190-pounder with a cannon for an arm. A native of the Dominican, he is fluid behind the plate with quick feet and solid blocking skills. He has a 70 arm on the 20-80 scouting scale with a short, quick release, but needs work on his receiving skills. Even though he hit .720 with 14 homers--comparable numbers to those posted by Manny Ramirez at the same high school in the early 90s--his bat is a question mark and he has limited power.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Salome hit .360 in Double-A in 2008, but has struggled to build on that performance. He left the Arizona Fall League after just one appearance with an ailing shoulder, then missed much of his first time in big league camp with back issues last spring. He had trouble staying on the field in Triple-A last season, put up the worst numbers of his four full minor league seasons and caught just 72 games, stunting his defensive growth. Salome has an unorthodox style at the plate, stepping in the bucket but staying on the ball long enough to use the entire field. He's powerfully built and has strong hands, though he didn't drive the ball as consistently in 2009 as he had in the past. While he's aggressive at the plate and doesn't walk much, he does make consistent contact. Salome has well-above-average arm strength, but his throws tend to tail off and he threw out just 26 percent of basestealers at Nashville. He needs to pay more attention to detail behind the plate, focusing on his footwork and improving his concentration. He has the tools to be a solid catcher if he makes defense a priority. He's a well-below-average runner, typical for a catcher. Jonathan Lucroy has passed Salome as Milwaukee's best catching prospect, and they both could open 2010 in Triple-A.
Salome has hit at every level and took that to new heights in 2008, when he ran away with the Southern League batting title with a .360 average. After he made his big league debut in September, the Brewers sent him to the Arizona Fall League to hone his defense, but he played only one game before shoulder soreness shut him down. Salome often steps in the bucket and flies open with his swing, but his great hand-eye coordination and his upper-body strength make it work. He stays on the ball and drives it to all fields, and he can even handle pitches on the outer half despite his unorthodox style. His pure arm strength rates a 65 or 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale and he does a good job of blocking pitches. Salome often gets his footwork messed up behind the plate, resulting in inaccurate throws and stolen bases. He threw out 26 percent of basestealers while allowing 90 swipes in 78 games last year. He still needs to work on his game-calling. He's a well below-average runner. He was suspended for 50 games in 2007 after testing positive for performanceenhancing drugs, but the Brewers don't believe that will be an issue again. Whether Salome will improve enough behind the plate to become a big league starter remains to be seen. He certainly looks like he'll hit, but his short stature makes it difficult to project him playing anywhere but catcher. He'll open 2009 in Triple-A.
Salome missed time in 2007 early, as he recovered from ankle surgery, and late, when he was suspended 50 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. In between, he raised his career batting average to .309. Salome has an unorthodox swing yet makes consistent contact and generates solid power, especially from gap to gap. With a compact body and very little body fat, he's much stronger than he looks and has earned the nickname "Pocket Pudge." Milwaukee believes Salome has legitimate power and that he won't use PEDs again. His arm is well above average. Despite his arm strength, Salome threw out just 6-of-46 basestealers (13 percent) in 2007 due to inaccurate throws. He still struggles with most subtle aspects of catching, such as receiving, blocking balls in the dirt and calling pitches. He's often too aggressive at the plate and is a below-average runner. Salome tried to make up for lost time by going to instructional league and then winter ball in Venezuela. He may return to high Class A to open 2008, after finishing his suspension.
Salome was born in the Dominican Republic and though his family moved between there and New York twice, they didn't settle permanently in New York until he was 12. He was leading the South Atlantic League in RBIs last season when he broke his ankle sliding into second in early August. He has compact strength in his short frame, prompting some to call him "Pocket Pudge." Salome has a 70 arm, helping him throw out 37 percent of basestealers despite needing overall work on his defensive mechanics. He drives the ball with a short, powerful stroke. Salome is a tireless, enthusiastic worker and made marked improvement defensively last year. He committed 15 errors and allowed 17 passed balls, however, and is still learning the basic catching fundamentals of shifting his weight, blocking balls and calling games. The Brewers have high hopes for their top catching prospect, who would fill an obvious hole in their lauded homegrown lineup. And while Salome is still at least a couple years away, the path is clear for him, as long as he continues to develop his defensive skills.
Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Salome moved back and forth from the Dominican and New York twice, finally settling into upper Manhattan at age 12. He attended the same high school as Manny Ramirez and hit like Ramirez in high school, surpassing .800 as a senior. Salome hit .415 at Helena last season as his Popeye-like forearms, short swing and powerful stroke helped him get the fat part of the bat on the ball consistently. His swing would be better if he incorporated his lower half more, giving him more power and allowing him to stay back better on breaking balls. His ebullient personality and bilingual ability are both assets as a catcher. Salome still has to adjust to pitchers who throw with velocity and sharp breaking balls he didn't see in high school, both at the plate and behind it. While Salome has a 70 arm on the 20-80 scouting scale and has a prototypical athletic, squat body to catch, he has many adjustments to make defensively. He's still grasping basic receiving fundamentals. He had 18 passed balls in 35 games at catcher and threw out 32 percent of basestealers. He's expected to return to low Class A for 2006.
When the Brewers drafted Salome out of the same high school that produced Manny Ramirez--George Washington in the Bronx--they considered him primarily a defensive specialist, though he was able to match Ramirez' production last spring by hitting .720 with 14 homers during his high school season. Salome suffered a broken hamate bone after 20 games in Rookie ball. When he arrived in instructional league, he started whacking the ball all over the park, socking two homers and a double in one game. Should he continue to swing the bat as he did in instructional league, showing good pop and hitting to all fields, Milwaukee will have much more than it bargained for. Salome's throwing arm stands out the most, grading as a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale. He gets the ball to second in a hurry, drawing comparisons to Pudge Rodriguez at the same age. Salome threw out 32 percent of basestealers in his pro debut. He also has good hands behind the plate, though he needs to work on his receiving. He handles pitchers well and has a great work ethic. With advanced defensive skills for a teenager and the desire to improve, Salome has a lot of upside at a position where the Brewers have struggled to develop prospects. He could make it to low Class A this year, though beginning the season in extended spring is also an option.

Minor League Top Prospects

After hitting .360 in Double-A a year ago, Salome had his worst offensive season since his 2005 pro debut, though his .286/.334/.413 numbers were still respectable. He has an unorthodox swing in which he steps towards third base and flies open, but he makes it work. He's strong and can drive balls to right center, but most of his home run power is to his pull side. "It's like he's compensating for his mechanical deficiencies because he has such good hand strength," the NL scout said. "He can pull the outside pitch with some authority. It's not conventional. It's not the way you'd teach it." Salome should be more productive than most catchers, and he has the tools to be effective behind the plate as well. He has well above-average arm strength, but his throws tend to tail and he threw out just 26 percent of basestealers for Nashville. He's athletic enough and blocks balls well but must remember to make defense a priority.
There isn't anything classic or conventional about Salome, ranging from his short yet hulking stature to his hitting mechanics. When Salome swings, he begins his stride toward the third-base line, flying open as he steps in the bucket. He usually spins on his back foot, producing an off-balance swing. The style may be unorthodox, but nobody can argue with the results so far. He won the SL batting title with a .360 average, raising his career mark to .322. He has very good hand-eye coordination, which allows his unusual style to work, and his tremendous strength permits him to drive he ball without a classic power hitter's frame or mechanics. Most of his pop comes to the opposite field. "You definitely don't show this film to kids and say, 'This is how you do it, kids,' " an AL scout said. "But he just gets it done." Salome has a strong arm, but teams didn't show much restraint against him on the basepaths. His arm action is a little long and he struggles at times with his accuracy, and opponents swiped 90 bases against him in 76 games (with a 74 percent success rate). He also needs to improve his game-calling. His agility and speed are well below average.
After a broken hamate bone precluded Salome from playing full-time in his 2004 pro debut, he caught on quickly and put together one of the most impressive offensive seasons in a short-season league. The league MVP, he thrived in the heart of Helena's lineup before jumping to low Class A West Virginia, where he tailed off. "The way the ball comes off his bat was a different sound than other guys in the league," Orton said. "He has good plate coverage and he'd foul pitches off in, then get something out over the plate and drive it." Salome's aggressive approach might have caught up to him, but he has outstanding eye-hand coordination and an electric bat. He gets the barrel through the zone with authority and drives balls to all fields with power. He's athletic and is an above-average runner. Whether he remains behind the plate predicates his value as a prospect. His high-energy style is welcome in a young player but he tries to do everything too quickly defensively, leading to 11 errors, the most among PL catchers. He has good hands, a plus arm and regularly registers pop times from 1.85-1.95 seconds, a positive sign for his future as a catcher.