Written by: Jared Perkins

It has been a journey for #JaredsJetSetters this year. We have covered many prospects who are turning heads and moving their way up prospect boards like Cleveland’s Angel Martinez, Marlins’ Eury Perez, and Cleveland’s Peyton Battenfield. We head back to Miami to cover what might be one of my favorite prospects, infielder Jose Salas.

Recently promoted to Low-A at 18 years old, Salas has shown off his amazing skill set early on in his first taste of professional baseball in the states. He took the Arizona Complex League by storm where he hit .326 with two home runs, 11 doubles, 18 walks, and 10 stolen bases. He sported a solid 21.5% strikeout rate that was offset with a good 10.3% walk rate. He is still adjusting to low-A sporting a .225 batting average in 10 games. His strikeout rate has increased a tad, but so has his walk rate. 

He was supposed to debut stateside in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic season delayed that opportunity. Salas took off during the instructional league last year. His above-average speed and athleticism stood out to people. He couples that with some impressive strength already coming in at six foot one and weighing 191 pounds. He also has an advanced approach from both sides of the plate and his solid walk rate shows that he has a really good feel for the strike zone and recognizes pitches well. 

When I watched some recent video of Salas I was impressed by his bat speed from both sides of the plate. With that ability and his strength, he could end up hitting 20 to 25 home runs which is very intriguing since he has the speed to steal 20 to 30 bags. The Marlins have been aggressive with his assignments like they have been with a lot of their young prospects. He should get adjusted to the increased competition in low-A as he is still developing as a player overall. As soon as he does, he is going to skyrocket up prospect boards. He is already starting to gain traction in the prospect world so now is the time to jump on him before it is too late.