We’ve discussed the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, and High-A Greenville Drive already. It’s time for the final affiliated team to get some love.
Today, we’re going to try to project the opening day roster for the Boston Red Sox Single-A affiliate, the Salem RidgeYaks, and make some predictions along the way. The RidgeYaks were formerly known as the Salem Red Sox, but rebranded this offseason.
Salem’s 2026 roster projections and predictions
Catcher: Gerardo Rodriguez, Adonys Guzman, Andruw Musett
Gerardo Rodriguez has always been a good defensive catcher with a fantastic arm. In 2025, he took a leap offensively. He could become a household name in 2026.
Adonys Guzman is another new addition this offseason. The right-handed hitter is great defensively behind the dish and has some power potential, so he could be a sneaky good piece.
Andruw Musett was really solid last year and earned a promotion to High-A. Sadly, he could be bumped down to Salem just because of the numbers game.
First base: D’Angelo Ortiz, Frederik Jimenez
D’Angelo Ortiz looked pretty good after being promoted to Single-A last season. It will be really cool to see Big Papi’s son enter 2026 as the starting first baseman in Salem.
Frederik Jimenez didn’t have the best numbers in 2025, but he had some big moments. He also ended the season with a bang, hitting two home runs in the final game.
Second base: Yoeilin Cespedes
Yoeilin Cespedes had some ridiculous hype back in 2024 when he was promoted to Single-A. However, an injury meant he never got to play a game with Salem that year. In 2025, we saw some flashes of the excitement Cespedes could bring (especially with the bat). Inconsistency and a struggle to get on base brought the vibes down, though.
Cespedes (still just 20) should restore some of that excitement in 2026 and won’t be in Salem for long.
Third base: Jack Winnay
Jack Winnay deserves so much more hype. There’s some serious power potential there, and he raked in his short sample size in 2025.
Winnay gets my big bold prediction of the hitters. He hits 15-plus home runs (remember, hitting homers in Salem isn’t easy). Winnay becomes a legitimate name, and fans jump on the hype train.
Shortstop: Avinson Pinto
Avinson Pinto hasn’t played above the FCL this year, but I think he gets the Opening Day nod at shortstop for Salem. The switch-hitter doesn’t boast much power, but he’s extremely fast and a strong defender. He should be a fun watch.
Outfield: Enddy Azocar, Skylar King, Anderson Fermin, Andrews Opata
Enddy Azocar is the star here. A great athlete with phenomenal speed and a good glove. He has real power potential and could skyrocket up prospect rankings in 2026.
Not-so-bold prediction: Azocar at least flirts with the top 100 rankings this season
Skylar King is awesome. He has elite speed and defense. Those two will carry him as he works on his offensive game. Smaller prediction, I think he becomes a fan favorite as he’ll be making highlight plays multiple times a week.
Anderson Fermin needs to add some power to his game, but he draws walks and has plenty of speed. Andrews Opata is an undrafted addition who has good speed and power potential.
UTIL: Ty Hodge, Ilan Fernandez, Kleyver Salazar
Ty Hodge is another undrafted free agent and another prospect with good speed and defense which should help him get plenty of playing time.
Ilan Fernandez is a right-handed hitter who can steal bases and play all over the infield.
Kleyver Salazar has spent most of his career as a catcher, but he’s also appeared at first base. I think he’ll move around a bit this year with the Red Sox having an abundance of catchers.
Starting pitchers: Marcus Phillips (RHP) Jose Bello (RHP), Alex Bouchard (RHP), Myles Patton (LHP), Dylan Brown (LHP), Barrett Morgan (RHP), Ethan Walker (LHP), Jason Gilman (LHP)
Salem’s pitching staff doesn’t have the star power that the other levels have. However, it has great depth and a few intriguing sleepers. Getting to see Aex Bouchard healthy should be fun. Jose Bello is the last piece standing from the Rafael Devers trade (yikes), so hopefully he can have a big year.
Myles Patton, Dylan Brown, Barrett Morgan, Ethan Walker, and Jason Gilman are all 2025 draftees who have yet to debut. Patton was the earliest drafted (seventh round), and with some added velocity, could be scary. Gilman was the latest drafted (16th round), and coming out of Division III, it will be fun to watch his development.
Relief pitchers: Christian Fouch (RHP), Jacob Mayers (RHP), Nicholas De La Cruz (LHP), Wuilliams Rodriguez (RHP), Cade Fisher (LHP), Patrick Galle (RHP), Ben Hansen (RHP), Yermain Ruiz (RHP)
I don’t want to get too crazy here, but the Christian Fouch and Jacob Mayers bullpen duo is pure unadulterated filth. Mayers was a ninth-round selection out of LSU and can hit 101.8 MPH on his fastball. That’s enough to get him by in the lower minor leagues while he works on other stuff.
Fouch is a fifth-round pick out of Arkansas. The righty has a gross fastball/splitter combination. He’s struggled with control, but he can work on that while dominating in the lower levels.
Prediction time: Fouch and Mayers both get up to Double-A by the end of the season.
Cade Fisher and Patrick Galle are both 2025 draft picks as well. Ben Hansen is an extension darling who showed flashes last season, while Nicolas De La Cruz struggled with command last season, but looked mostly nasty.
Wuilliams Rodriguez got a small taste of Single-A last year. Yermain Ruiz has looked fantastic the last two seasons in the DSL and FCL. Both pitchers possess repertoires that can be molded and improved.