Jump to content

WBT

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    32378
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by WBT

  1. Kaplan on Perez:

    Spoiler

     

    Projecting Astros call-up Cionel Perez at the major league level

    Cionel-Perez-1024x704.jpg
    By Jake Kaplan 12m agosave-icon@2x.png

    The jury is still out on whether 22-year-old Cuban lefthander Cionel Perez will stick as a starter long term or end up as a reliever. His first stint with the Astros will be in the latter role, a cameo that will begin Friday at Tropicana Field and may last only a few days.

    But for many, his major league debut (presuming he makes at least one appearance before Joe Smith returns from the 10-day disabled list) will be their first exposure to Perez. He’s logged only 151 innings stateside since he signed with the Astros for a $2 million bonus in December 2016 and has yet to pitch above Class AA.

     

    Sources: The Astros are calling up lefthander Cionel Perez from Double-A Corpus Christi to fill the active roster spot created by Carlos Correa's pending DL placement.

     
     

     

    The knock on Perez is his size: he stands only a listed 5-foot-11, 170 pounds. He’s an explosive pitcher, armed with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and has touched 97 mph. He also has three secondary pitches. In 57 1/3 innings with Class AA Corpus Christi this season, it has translated to a 2.20 ERA with 11.1 strikeouts per nine against 3.3 walks.

    Perez’s go-to secondary pitch is a slider in the low-to-mid 80s that’s more slurvey than cutter-ish. He also throws a curveball in the 76-77 mph range. His changeup — his consensus fourth pitch — is inconsistent but has the potential, at least according to one American League scout, to be average.

    Baseball America ranked Perez as Houston’s 13th-best overall prospect over the winter, and he’s unquestionably the Astros’ best left-handed pitching prospect. His stuff should play up in relief, especially if he focuses on harnessing his fastball-slider combo.

    Perez might have to wait until his next call-up to see considerable action with the Astros, as the rehabbing Smith (elbow soreness) should be activated from the 10-day DL in a matter of days. The Astros could soon test Perez with a stint in Class AAA unless they want to keep him in Class AA for proximity reasons. He joins Lance McCullers Jr. and Michael Feliz as Astros pitching prospects under GM Jeff Luhnow who were summoned to the majors straight from Class AA.

    Perez’s call-up brings the number of relievers in the Astros’ bullpen back to eight. He was selected over righthander James Hoyt and lefthanders Reymin Guduan and Buddy Boshers, each of whom is in Class AAA. Because he needed to be protected from December’s Rule 5 Draft, Perez was already on the Astros’ 40-man roster, which stands at 38 players.

    The need for Rule 5 protection came so early in Perez’s pro career because of the unique and somewhat controversial circumstances that surrounded his signing. The Astros originally agreed to terms with Perez in September 2016 on a $5.15 million bonus, which would have been a club record for an international free agent under the age of 23. The deal was voided a month later, reportedly over concern about his elbow.

    The Astros’ investment would’ve actually totaled $10.30 million because of the 100 percent overage tax they would’ve incurred for exceeding their signing bonus pool that international signing period. The revised deal cost them $4 million after the tax. Because he signed with the same team that voided his contract, Perez was eligible to be picked in the Rule 5 Draft a year later. The young pitcher expressed displeasure with the process, with his camp positing he should’ve been exempt from international bonus pool restrictions.

    Starting out at just 17, Perez pitched for Matanzas of Cuba’s Series Nacional, the island’s primary professional league. To begin his stateside pro career last year, the Astros started him in extended spring training to methodically ramp his arm up for competition after a considerable layoff. He later made his way through low Class A Quad Cities and Advanced Class A Buies Creek before finishing the 2017 minor league season in Class AA.

    Perez struggled in his first exposure to Class AA last season (5.54 ERA in 13 innings) but has looked like a different pitcher this season. His fastball sat more in the 93-94 mph range last year, so his velocity increase this year suggests an adjustment to the rigors of the minor league season. He will join the Astros fresh off an appearance in Tuesday’s Texas League All-Star Game.

     

  2. 25 minutes ago, miguelito said:

    Quick Pitch on MLB is my favorite highlights show. Just clips of the games, some interesting stats now and then, and no bullshit announcers who think we tune in to watch them.

     

    23 minutes ago, spystud13 said:

    And hot hosts. 

    It's the best.  I like hearing the actual broadcast calls and they let the highlights flow in a sequential way that actually tells you how the game went.  Sports center used to do that back in the 90s but now they show one HR from a game and then get back to LeBron talk.  And watching Kelly Nash in a tight dress first thing in the morning isn't bad either.

    • Like 1
  3. Colombia can easily beat England especially if James can go.

    Sweden probably didn't scare the Netherlands, Italy, or Germany either.

    I'd give them about a 25% chance of making the semis.

  4. 1 hour ago, Cairn Horn88 said:

    That’s despite substantial efforts by an increasingly frustrated SEC office over ESPN’s inability to get the deal done.

    Wait, what?  Why should the conference care one way or the other?

×
×
  • Create New...