José Salas (minors06)

José Francisco Salas

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 160 lb.

• Born April 17, 1997 in Villa de Cura, Aragua Venezuela

BR register page

Biographical Information

José Salas has played in the minors and for the Peruvian national team.

Salas was signed by Detroit Tigers scouts Alexander Rodriguez and Delvis Pacheco in July 2014. He hit .270/.316/.347 for the 2015 VSL Tigers, fielding .921 at short. Coming stateside in '16, he batted .222/.291/.279 for the GCL Tigers East. In 2017, he was a utility infielder for the GCL Tigers West (.272/.348/.330 in 34 G) and Lakeland Flying Tigers (1 for 15, BB, HBP, R, RBI). In his last season in their chain, he hit .179/.220/.321 for the GCL Tigers West. He had batted .237/.296/.313 with 73 runs and 51 RBI in 161 games in the minors. He had fielded .916 in 65 games at SS, .917 in 44 at 3B and .974 in 35 at 2B.

He later was part of the waves of migration from Venezuela to Peru and joined the national team. He was one of their first players with pro experience, following Cuban defector Kenny Rodriguez and at the same time as fellow Venezuelan Juan Casas. In his debut for Peru, he played first base in the 2022 South American Championship opener, batting third. He drew a walk from Bolivia's Cristian Choque, stole second and scored on a hit from Casas. He grounded out and walked again before Andrés Hamamoto pinch-hit for him with the game well in hand. In the semifinals, his 4th-inning single off Argentina's Federico Robles scored Susumu Yoza to tie it at 1, but Peru's upset bid fell shy, 3-2. He had a rough series, as that was his lone hit in 19 at-bats. He had 3 walks, 3 runs and a RBI while fielding .880 between 1B, SS, 3B and RF. He had the lowest average of any qualifier in the event, .047 behind Ledy Alvarez. He tied Pedro Figueras for fifth with 10 assists but also tied Johan Leon, [{Percy Venegas]] and Osvaldo Carvalho Jr. for the most errors (3). It was an obviously disappointing tournament for someone with pro experience.