Ángel Vílchez

Ángel Francisco Vílchez Rodríguez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height: 6' 0", Weight 183 lb.

• Born December 28, 1990 in Maracaibo, Zulia Venezuela

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ángel Vilchez (also known by his middle name, as Francisco Vilchez) pitched four seasons in the minor leagues.

He was signed by Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Rene Gayo and Rodolfo Petit in March 2008. He was 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 19 K in 18 IP for the 2008 VSL Pirates in his pro debut. In 2009, he was 4-1 with a 3.74 ERA for the same club. In 2010, he posted a 6-2, 2.52 record for the VSL pirates. He tied three teammates for 4th in the Venezuelan Summer League in wins and second in ERA (.003 behind Luis Gonzalez). He split 2011 between the DSL Pirates (3-2, 2.16 in 7 G) and VSL Pirates (5-2, 4.78) to end his minor league career.

Vilchez later pitched in Colombia. In 2015-2016, he won five games for the Caimanes de Barranquilla to tie for second in the Colombian League, one behind Porfirio Lopez. He was one of four Venezuelans onr the Colombian national team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in March 2016. He pitched two games. In his first, he relieved Kendy Batista with a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the 6th in the opener against Spain (another team with Venezuelan ringers), with two on and no outs. He allowed a single to Jesús Ustariz, got Blake Ochoa to hit into a run-scoring douible pay then gave up a single to Jesús Golindano to cut the lead to 5-2. Greg Nappo relieved and got out of the inning. He was sharper in the finale against host Panama. Replacing Nappo with one out and two out in the 6th with a 1-0 deficit, he retired Carlos Quiroz. Colombia tied it in the bottom of the inning. In the 7th, he allowed a single to Isaias Velasquez but retired Anthony Amaya, Jorge Bishop and Edmundo Sosa. He got Luis Castillo on a grounder to open the 8th then turned things over to Carlos Diaz, who got credit for the 2-1 win when Colombia scored in the bottom of the frame. Colombia advanced to the World Baseball Classic for the first time.

Vilchez was with Colombia as they won a Bronze in the 2016 South American Championship, allowing no runs in five innings over three games (5 H, 1 BB, 6 K). He got the win over Chile. In the semifinals, he was the team's top hurler in a 10-inning, 12-9 loss to Argentina, throwing two shutout innings (three hits, one whiff). He was part of the designated pitcher pool for the 2017 World Baseball Classic but was not activated. He was excellent in the 2017 Bolivarian Games, retiring all 12 batters he faced while fanning four. He tied for second in the event in games pitched (3), one behind Batista, as Colombia won the Gold for the first time in 44 years.