Braves' Salcedo Back In The States, Ready To Play For Rome

Dominican shortstop Edward Salcedo, who the Braves signed to a 1.6 million dollar bonus back in February, has returned to the United States and will begin his career in this country playing for the Braves' Low A affiliate, the Rome Braves.

Salcedo had originally come to America in the middle of March and taken part in Minor League Spring Training, but at some point in April he returned to his home in La Vega for undisclosed family issues and had trouble re-entering the US because of Visa issues. While there was nothing seriously wrong with his Visa, the 6'3", 195 pound, right handed hitting 18 year old shortstop was still forced to delay his American professional career.

In the interim, he played for the Braves' Dominican Summer League affiliate and showed off his tremendous potential, hitting .297 with a .885 OPS in 74 at bats over 23 games. He stole 8 bases and showed a knack for getting on base with 18 walks, good for a .453 OBP. He did commit 7 errors in those games, but many young shortstops commit a lot of errors at the lower levels, and, while they may be the best available in the country, the fields of the DSL don't compare to those in the US.

Salcedo will begin playing with the Rome Braves in the next few days, bolstering a lineup that has already recieved a staggering infusion of talent in the past few weeks. The 2009 Appalachian League MVP, Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg, returned after missing 2 and a half months with a broken hand and has gone 6-19, with a pair of doubles and a triple in hist first 5 games. This year's second round pick, Todd Cunningham, began his professional career with Rome on June 20th, and has going 3-20 in the 6 games he's played. And 5th rounder Phil Gosselin has gotten his career off to a hot start after joining Rome on June 26th, going 4-11 in the 3 games he's played.