Houston Astros’ prospect Cesar Salazar, a left-handed hitting catcher, is living a life of either immaculate symmetry or surprising coincidence: Born in Mexico, he’s actually played as a pro many times on the same team and in the same stadium where he saw his hometown team play as a kid.

Plus, he attended the same high school as former Astros outfielder Tom Wiedenbauer, who, like Salazar, was a Houston seventh-round draft selection.

Wiedenbauer, selected in 1976, played all of two weeks in Houston’s rainbow jersey in 1979 before retiring four years later to spend the next two dozen years as a manager and coach in Houston’s minor league system.

The Scene From Above

The Astros began their 2019 offseason with one catcher on their 40-man roster –the speedy, gifted but untested Garrett Stubbs, also a lefty hitter. At the last out of the 2019 World Series, Houston’s Robinson Chirinos and Martin Maldonado (both right-handed hitters) became free agents.

Confronted with their main offseason roster challenge (along with solidifying the starting rotation, and maybe adding a bullpen piece or two), the ‘Stros could possibly re-sign either or both of Maldonado or Chirinos.

Houston was also rumored to be in the running for signing former free agent Yasmani Grandal, the 31-year-old switch-hitting Cuban backstop who just signed with the Chicago White Sox.

Based on Houston’s current catching situation, though, Salazar’s stock managed to surge upward without the man himself even moving a muscle.

From Hermasillo to Houston By Way of Tucson

Salazar’s route to the Astros was certainly more circuitous than most draft picks’. The 5’9″, 188-pound backstop was born and raised in the northwest Mexico city of Hermosillo, Sonora, enjoying soccer, tennis, and baseball as his sports of choice.

Salazar, moving to Arizona when he was 16, attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson, and earned the school’s Hal Eustice Award for baseball Player of the Year in 2015. He batted .613 in 62 at-bats during his senior season while collecting 16 RBIs, nine doubles, four triples, and four home runs.

Staying in Tucson after high school seemed like the convenient thing to do, having come to know the city.

“I chose [the University of] Arizona because it was the best fit for me and it is close to my parents,” Salazar explained recently. His parents still live in Hermosillo, though, which made for a grueling five-hour trek due north for Cesar’s folks.

Bouncing From Aluminum to Wood, and Back Again

Using Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” as his walk-up song in 2016, Salazar’s freshman year for the Wildcats, he hit .276 with 30 runs scored, nine doubles, and 28 RBIs, while posting a .992 fielding percentage behind the plate, throwing out 10-of-36 baserunners (28%).

Salazar, eager to play baseball virtually year-round, played in 23 games with the La Crosse (WI) Loggers of the Northwoods League in the summer of 2016. Using a wooden bat and minor league specifications baseballs, he put up a .276 batting average with two home runs, 15 RBIs, and 12 runs scored.

Back at Arizona, Salazar was a First-Team All-Pac-12 Selection in 2017, while playing in 55 sophomore games. He hit .284 in 176 at-bats, with 10 doubles, two triples, two homers, and 34 RBIs. A right-handed thrower, Salazar nabbed 11-of-37 baserunners behind the plate, for a slightly improved 30% from the previous season.

In the summer of 2017, he played for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod League. Familiarizing himself again with a wood bat, he impressed coaches by posting four home runs, 13 RBIs, 22 hits, and two doubles in 33 games for the Firebirds.

Salazar wrapped up his junior 2018 Arizona campaign by hitting .339 in 189 ABs, with 11 doubles, a triple, and four home runs, with a .432 OBP. His 21 walks against 26 strikeouts point to a discerning eye at the plate, something which doubtless caught the eye of the Astros’ front office. His 57% caught-stealing rate must have raised some eyebrows, as well.

Notes Off the Clipboard

Baseball America had this to say about Salazar mid-way through his Arizona career: “He has made big strides at the plate this year by adding strength, but he is still regarded as a defense-first catcher. He blocks and receives well, and knows how to manage a pitching staff. His fringe-average arm plays up because his quick hands and feet allow him to get rid of the ball quickly. Salazar’s intangibles allow all of his tools to play up.”

Salazar’s Arizona head coach, Jay Johnson, had these glowing words to say about his backstop to the Arizona Daily Star just days prior to the 2018 draft: “Tremendous catcher. He’s almost like a good umpire back there — you don’t notice him because things always go right. He gets your pitchers additional pitches for strikes. His catch and release is really advanced. His leadership skills and his handling of the pitching staff are well documented. And I think he developed tremendously offensively between the first two years and this [his junior] year.”

Salazar’s Arizona teammate and 2018 draft-mate, first baseman Alfonso Rivas (now an Oakland A’s farmhand), had this to say about the former Wildcats catcher just before the draft: “Very mature. Leadership. His passion for the game, his defensive skills are off the charts. He has quick feet, a quick transfer and a good arm. At the plate, he has great discipline. He stays through the ball, through the zone, and has some pop. Very good all-around baseball player that understands the game, loves the game and will help someone win.”

Houston’s Blue & Orange Comes Calling

The Astros made Salazar the 222nd player chosen in the 2018 draft, signing him to a $160,000 bonus, $27,000 below the reported slot value for his selection spot.

He spent his first year-and-a-half in pro ball moving through Houston’s two Class A teams: Short season Tri-Cities in the New York-Penn League, to the full season Class A Quad Cities River Bandits finishing up 2019, earning Midwest League All-Star honors. He got a single in his only at-bat in the game.

So far, Salazar’s combined minor league totals yield a .241 average, with 22 doubles, six homers, and 56 RBIs in 107 games. With a slash line of .310/.356/.666, Salazar will never be offensively compared to Johnny Bench, and his surprising six out of 10 stolen bases further underscore that projection.

Did Someone Say “Orange”?

In a remarkable smack of serendipity, Salazar spent the fall of 2018 actually playing on the Hermosillo Naranjeros (Spanish for “Oranges”), the team he grew up rooting for.

“It means a lot. It’s a team I grew up watching,” Salazar confirmed to the Daily Star in October 2018. The Naranjeros, believe it or not, were in Tucson to do battle with the same Arizona Wildcats Salazar played on just four months before!

It was all part of the Vamos a Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta, and Salazar couldn’t help gushing about the Oranges: “It’s a team I’ve seen since I was a little kid. Right now, wearing their colors — it’s pretty special. I’ll be able to, hopefully, play in front of all my friends and family.”

Salazar was unable to conceal a sly grin when he was asked how his new Hermosillo mates might defeat his former ‘Cats: “I mean, I know all the UA strategies, so they’re not going to fool us,” Salazar said, with more than just a little confidence. “That’s for sure.”

Salazar was actually on the roster, then, of the Mexican Pacific League’s Hermosillo team, just as he’s finishing up his winter ball stint for them, now, in the winter of 2019.

In his two winters with Hermosillo, he’s hit a combined .234 BA, with six doubles, a homer, and 10 RBIs, while slashing a .254/.375/.629 in 70 plate appearances. He’s walked only twice while striking out 18 times.

Look for Salazar to attend Spring Training with the Astros before starting his season with their High-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers. A peek at AA Corpus Christi may not be out of the question toward summer’s end.

And, Finally, the Catcher Frames His Pitch

Salazar on Salazar: “This is what I always say: I’m not going to be the best player on the team or the most talented guy, but I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. I’m going to manage the pitching staff, and you’re going to have the best chance to win a game with me behind the plate.

“Be an established MLB catcher — that’s the goal.”