Top 50 Prospects: #23 – Martin Perez | The Golden Sombrero Baseball Blog | MLB, Fantasy, College & High School Baseball News

Top 50 Prospects: #23 – Martin Perez

Calendar December 19, 2011 | Posted by Daniel "Dee" Clark

#23 Martin Perez

Texas Rangers

DOB: 4/4/1991

Previous Rank: 28

ETA: 2012

Perez finally threw up the stats to back up his enormous potential…and then plummeted back to earth after a promotion to Triple-A.  As one of the top pitchers in the Texas League and quite likely the top lefty, Perez posted a 3.16 ERA in 88.1 innings with 83 strikeouts compared to 36 walks.  While that is far too many walks, those numbers were still way better than any we’d seen thus far from Perez.   He then proceeded to put up a 6.83 ERA with – who really cares what the rest of his numbers were like after giving up that many runs?

Year Age Tm Lg Lev W L ERA G GS CG SHO IP BB SO
2008 17 Spokane NORW A- 1 2 3.65 15 15 0 0 61.2 28 53
2009 18 2 Teams 2 Lgs A-AA 6 8 2.90 27 19 0 0 114.2 38 119
2009 18 Hickory SALL A 5 5 2.31 22 14 0 0 93.2 33 105
2009 18 Frisco TL AA 1 3 5.57 5 5 0 0 21.0 5 14
2010 19 Frisco TL AA 5 8 5.96 24 23 0 0 99.2 50 101
2011 20 2 Teams 2 Lgs AA-AAA 8 6 4.33 27 26 1 1 137.1 56 120
2011 20 Frisco TL AA 4 2 3.16 17 16 1 1 88.1 36 83
2011 20 Round Rock PCL AAA 4 4 6.43 10 10 0 0 49.0 20 37
4 Seasons 20 24 4.22 93 83 1 1 413.1 172 393
AA (3 seasons) AA 10 13 4.74 46 44 1 1 209.0 91 198
A (1 season) A 5 5 2.31 22 14 0 0 93.2 33 105
A- (1 season) A- 1 2 3.65 15 15 0 0 61.2 28 53
AAA (1 season) AAA 4 4 6.43 10 10 0 0 49.0 20 37
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/19/2011.
Year Age Tm Lg Lev W L ERA IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2008 17 Spokane NORW A- 1 2 3.65 61.2 1.524 9.6 0.4 4.1 7.7 1.89
2009 18 2 Teams 2 Lgs A-AA 6 8 2.90 114.2 1.299 8.7 0.4 3.0 9.3 3.13
2009 18 Hickory SALL A 5 5 2.31 93.2 1.228 7.9 0.3 3.2 10.1 3.18
2009 18 Frisco TL AA 1 3 5.57 21.0 1.619 12.4 0.9 2.1 6.0 2.80
2010 19 Frisco TL AA 5 8 5.96 99.2 1.676 10.6 1.1 4.5 9.1 2.02
2011 20 2 Teams 2 Lgs AA-AAA 8 6 4.33 137.1 1.515 10.0 0.7 3.7 7.9 2.14
2011 20 Frisco TL AA 4 2 3.16 88.1 1.313 8.2 0.6 3.7 8.5 2.31
2011 20 Round Rock PCL AAA 4 4 6.43 49.0 1.878 13.2 0.7 3.7 6.8 1.85
4 Seasons 20 24 4.22 413.1 1.495 9.7 0.7 3.7 8.6 2.28
AA (3 seasons) AA 10 13 4.74 209.0 1.517 9.7 0.9 3.9 8.5 2.18
A (1 season) A 5 5 2.31 93.2 1.228 7.9 0.3 3.2 10.1 3.18
A- (1 season) A- 1 2 3.65 61.2 1.524 9.6 0.4 4.1 7.7 1.89
AAA (1 season) AAA 4 4 6.43 49.0 1.878 13.2 0.7 3.7 6.8 1.85
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/19/2011.

Perez has pretty rocky fastball command for a prospect getting this kind of ranking, but his stuff is just too good to rank him any lower.  His fastball reaches the mid-90s, and he has arguably the finest breaking pitch in the Minors in the form of a heavy downer curveball.  It can flash double and triple-plus when it is on and in the zone, and we, like many, are very reluctant to slap an 80 on anything that isn’t a 100 mph heater or a 3.8 sec. to first.  He has a solid to plus changeup as well that shows quality fade and should be plenty to handle righties effectively.

Perez has elite stuff, and with more than a full season in the high Minors under his belt at just 20-years of age, could be a top of the rotation arm.  Reaching that level will require improved fastball command and a more consistent delivery, although the latter is greatly improved relative to what it was as a teenager.  We see a lot of Gio Gonzalez in Perez, and like Gio, Perez could be both an All-Star in the Show and excellent trade bait.

Comments are closed.