2023-05-12 19:05:21
The Marlins have had four elite pitching prospects in their three-decade history.
Cuban Liván Hernández became the first rookie to win the ALCS and World Series MVP in the same postseason, helping the franchise capture its first championship in 1997. Josh Beckett was the hero of the la NLCS and World Series MVP when the Marlins won their second ring in 2003. The late José Fernández was a National League Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star in four seasons before his death in 2016.
The fourth is the Dominican right Eury Pérez, who will debut in the big leagues on Friday. Located in the #10 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list, will become the youngest pitcher in Marlins history at 20 years and 27 days old, surpassing Fernández by 223 days. He will be the youngest player to appear in the Majors since his compatriot Elvis Luciano broke into the Diamondbacks at 19 years and 44 days in 2019, and the youngest starter in the Big Top since Mexican Julio Urías (19 years, 289 days) with the Dodgers in 2016.
Regardless of his age, Pérez is an exciting talent that has blossomed faster than expected, especially considering his professional debut was delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first thing that stands out regarding Pérez is his height: 1.88 meters. Not only is he taller than most streamers, but he also has elite body control for someone so big and so young. He has no difficulty keeping his long limbs in sync and repeating his motion on the mound, which allows him to throw plenty of strikes.
Perez’s arsenal also makes an immediate impression. His fastball typically ranges from 94 to 97 mph and tops out at 100 mph, and the way his fastball moves is just as remarkable as his speed. His changeup is just as devastating as his fastball, traveling near 90 mph before fading out at home plate.
Early in his career, Pérez used a 75+ mph curveball as his primary breaking pitch. He’s still a solid sender, but he rarely uses it now, preferring a slider he added in 2022 and travels near 85 mph.
In addition to his physical ability, Pérez stands out with his maturity and mound presence, two other factors that have allowed him early success since signing for $200,000 in 2019. Pérez was 6-foot-4 with a weight 175 pounds when he turned professional at age 16. He had added four inches and 20 pounds when he reported to an instructional league in the fall of 2020 following the pandemic forced the cancellation of the minor league season.
Although he had yet to pitch in an official game as a pro and was the youngest pitcher in camp, Perez was the most impressive there, hitting 95 mph and demonstrating the foundation of what has become quality secondary pitching. His material and his polished delivery convinced the Marlins to send him to Class-A in 2021 for his 19-year-old pro debut. The Dominican responded with a 1.96 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .158 average as he finished with a 108/26 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 78 innings and finished the year in Class-A High. .
Miami tested Perez once more last year, sending him to Double-A even though he didn’t turn 19 until shortly following Opening Day. There he continued to dominate, posting a 3.97 ERA, a .221 average once morest and an 11/25 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 77.0 innings. He also shone at the All-Star Game in Los Angeles, hitting 99 mph while needing just 10 pitches to retire three Top 100 prospects in order.
Pérez suffered a strained hamstring shortly followingward, prompting the Marlins to suspend play for a month as a precaution. But the youngster returned in time to help Pensacola win the Double-A Southern League. Pérez began the 2023 season at Double-A and gave up five earned runs in his first two starts, but has allowed just three in his last four outings. He ranks among the Southern League leaders in several categories, including strikeouts (42, 4th), average once morest (.148, 4th), strikeout minus transfer percentage (28.2, 4th), earned run average (2.32, 4th). sixth) and strikeout rate (12.2 per nine innings, sixth).
Pérez still has room to improve in some of the details of his trade, like defending his position and keeping runners close, but he has the material and poise to pitch in the big leagues at 20 years old. Miami needs help in a rotation that has lacked consistency behind Sandy Alcántara and Jesús Luzardo, and is without the services of Dominican Johnny Cueto and Trevor Rogers with injuries.
The Marlins will continue to treat Perez with a grain of salt because of how young he is, and because he has never pitched more than 78.0 innings a season. Given his track record, there’s no reason to think he won’t succeed in the majors, even in short stretches for now. Once he establishes himself, he’s expected to be the Marlins’ next elite pitching prospect to turn his potential into stardom.
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