Tag: luis perales

Luis Perales identified by MLB Pipeline as having best fastball of any Red Sox pitching prospect

Luis Perales was recently identified by MLB Pipeline as having the best fastball of any Red Sox pitching prospect. The 19-year-old is currently regarded by the publication as the No. 13 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks fourth among pitchers in the organization.

The Red Sox originally signed Perales for $75,000 as an international free agent coming out of Venezuela in July 2019. Shortly after signing that summer, the hard-throwing right-hander was clocked at 95 mph with his heater.

Fast forward nearly four years later, and Perales is coming off a strong stateside debut in which he posted a 1.77 ERA and 3.24 FIP with 50 strikeouts to 20 walks in 13 appearances (11 starts) spanning 35 2/3 innings of work between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Salem.

Perales opened the 2022 minor-league season with Boston’s rookie-level affiliate and forged a 1.08 ERA (2.31 FIP) in eight outings (seven starts, 25 innings) before earning a promotion to Salem in late August. The Guacara native closed out the year by putting up a 3.37 ERA (5.44 FIP) over 10 2/3 innings with the Red Sox of the Carolina League.

On the heels of such an impressive campaign, it is not surprising to see that Perales was tabbed by MLB Pipeline’s Sam Dykstra as a potential breakout candidate within the Red Sox’ system heading into 2023.

“The 6-foot-1 right-hander was able to dominate the FCL and Salem in ‘22 because of his mid-90s heater that can touch 99 and features impressive ride at the top of the strike zone,” Dykstra wrote of Perales earlier this week. “[Red Sox director of player development Brian] Abraham mentioned in one extended game that 50 of Perales’ 60 pitches were fastballs, leading to only one hit and seven strikeouts over nine batters faced. He’ll need more than that if he’s going to leap in 2023, but the building blocks are there, especially with his mid-80s slider.”

Perales, who turns 20 next month, is expected to return to Salem for the start of the upcoming season. There, the 6-foot-1, 160-pounder will need to hone in on improving his command of the strike zone as he continues to adjust to more advanced competition in the minors.

“I think number one is slowing things down and really challenging the strike zone with the stuff he has,” Abraham said of Perales. “He has really good stuff. Now, we want him to challenge the strike zone, challenge hitters because it’s really hard to hit what he has. From there, it’s continuing to develop a slider and a changeup so he has a mix.”

(Picture of Luis Perales: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

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Red Sox’ Luis Perales identified by Baseball America as under-the-radar pitching prospect with great fastball

Luis Perales was recently identified by Baseball America as an under-the-radar pitching prospect with a great fastball.

Perales, 19, was one of three Red Sox prospects to make the publication’s Florida Complex League Top 10 Prospects list earlier this month. The young right-hander placed eighth after posting a 1.08 ERA and 2.31 FIP with 34 strikeouts to nine walks over nine appearances (seven starts) spanning 25 innings of work.

On August 18, Perales earned a late-season promotion to Low-A Salem. The native Venezuelan made four starts for the Salem Sox and produced a 3.38 ERA (5.44 FIP) with 16 strikeouts to 11 walks across 10 2/3 innings to close out the year.

“For us to push somebody at his age, who started off in the Dominican this year at the academy working out, to make his way to Salem is something we don’t see often,” Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith. “So it’s pretty special.”

The Red Sox originally signed Perales for $75,000 as an international free agent coming out of Guacara in July 2019. But he did not make his professional debut until last summer after the 2020 minor-league season was shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He then made just one start and pitched two innings in the Dominican Summer League in 2021.

“Overall, he’s so young that we’re just trying to get him consistent,” Romero said. “He’s young in age. But he also hasn’t pitched very much. So getting him mechanically consistent to let his stuff play. We know there’s velo in the fastball. The quality of the fastball is very good. It’s just one slight thing and it’s 98 and it’s moving off of the plate. So it’s just focusing on: throw the ball over the plate, work on your secondary (pitches), same thing, and then we can start refining things. But really for now, it’s keep it simple, throw the ball over the plate, let them try to hit it.”

As for what makes his fastball so great, Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes wrote, “Perales sits 94-97 mph, touching 98 mph at peak, with spin rates in the 2,400-2,500 rpm range and 19-20 inches of induced vertical break. While Perales’ strike and chase rates are just fringy, he has been able to induce whiffs on around 40% of swings this season, a number well above the minor league average. Perales’ fastball features a combination of power, movement and the ability to generate a difficult angle to the plate despite a fairly generic release. Command and strike-throwing are an issue at present, but at just 19 years old the fire-balling righthander has time to hone his craft in the coming years.”

In addition to his heater, the 6-foot-1, 160-pound righty also works with a “potentially plus breaking ball in the low-to-mid 80s and a changeup that flashes above-average” potential.

“We get caught up in attacking and game-planning for swing-and-miss. And when your stuff is that good, you don’t really need that,” said Romero. “Let the defense do some work and those swings-and-misses will come naturally in time. Just syncing up his delivery and making sure he’s in the strike zone. If he does that, he’ll be fine.”

Perales, who does not turn 20 until next April, has yet to throw more than three innings in any of his outings. The Red Sox, as noted by Romero, are exercising caution when it comes to managing his workload moving forward.

“He’s worked a decent amount of innings, just not official because they haven’t come in league play,” Romero said. “Whether it’s instructional league or winter program, he’s always built up. So he does have some innings under his belt. But when he’s done here, he’ll go into the instructional league also and work some. And then hopefully next year, we’ll see. He’ll be a very intriguing starting pitching prospect for us.”

(Picture of Luis Perales: Bryan Green/Flickr)

Red Sox promote pitching prospect Luis Perales to Low-A Salem

With Wikelman Gonzalez and Luis Guerrero making the jump to High-A Greenville, the Red Sox have promoted pitching prospect Luis Perales from the Florida Complex League to Low-A Salem, according to SoxProspects.com’s Chris Hatfield.

Perales, 19, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 24 prospect in Boston’s farm system, which ranks ninth among pitchers in the organization. The Red Sox originally signed the Venezuelan-born right-hander for $75,000 as an international free-agent coming out of Guacara in July 2019.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out the 2020 minor-league season, Perales did not make his professional debut until last July. But he was limited to just two innings in his first and only start in the Dominican Summer League because of a minor arm injury.

Despite being shut down for the remainder of the 2021 campaign, Perales began the 2022 season in the rookie-level Florida Complex League. From there, the righty posted a miniscule 1.08 ERA and 2.34 FIP to go along with 34 strikeouts to nine walks over nine appearances (seven starts) spanning 25 innings of work for Boston’s Fort Myers-based affiliate.

Among FCL pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings to this point in the year, Perales (as of Thursday morning) ranks 19th in strikeouts per nine innings (12.24), fifth in strikeout rate (36.2%), 16th in swinging strike rate (35.9%), third in batting average against (.119), fourth in WHIP (0.76), sixth in ERA, fifth in FIP, and 18th in xFIP (3.13), per FanGraphs.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds, Perales throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a mid-90s fastball that tops out at 96-98 mph, an advanced curveball that sits in the mid-70s, and a developing changeup.

On top of all that, SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall recently tweeted that, according to some scouts, Perales has been the best pitcher in the FCL this year.

Perales, who does not turn 20 until next April, still has plenty of room to grow physically and developmentally. With that, if all goes well to close out this season, he will likely return to Salem next spring if he remains in the organization through the winter.

(Picture of Luis Perales: Bryan Green/Flickr)

Red Sox pitching prospect Luis Perales opening eyes in Florida Complex League

Red Sox pitching prospect Luis Perales was recently recognized by Minor League Baseball as the Florida Complex League Pitcher of the Week for the week of July 11-17.

In two outings against the FCL Rays and FCL Twins last week, Perales allowed just one hit and no walks to go along with 11 strikeouts over six scoreless, nearly-perfect innings of work.

On the 2022 campaign as a whole, the right-hander has posted a 1.38 ERA and 1.93 FIP with 19 punchouts to just three walks over five appearances (three starts) spanning 13 innings pitched for Boston’s rookie-level affiliate in Fort Myers.

Among the 175 pitchers in the FCL who have thrown at least 10 innings so far this season, Perales ranks 19th in strikeouts per nine innings (13.15), 36th in walks per nine innings (2.08), eighth in strikeout rate (38.8%), 30th in swinging strike rate (35.7%), 39th in walk rate (6.1%), 25th in batting average against (.156), 10th in WHIP (0.77), 21st in ERA, fifth in FIP, and 17th in xFIP (2.98), per FanGraphs.

Perales, 19, originally signed with the Red Sox for $75,000 as an international free-agent coming out of Venezuela in July 2019. He did not make his professional debut until last year in the Dominican Summer League, but was limited to just one start due to injury.

Despite any concerns there, the Red Sox still moved Perales up to the FCL for the start of the 2022 season and he has made the most of his opportunity so far. The 6-foot-1, 160-pound righty has proven to be effective thanks to a pitch mix that consists of a mid-90s fastball that tops out at 98 mph, an advanced curveball that sits in the mid-70s, and a developing changeup.

Perales, who does not turn 20 until next April, still has plenty of room to grow from both a physical and developmental point of view. He is currently ranked by SoxProspects.com as the No. 52 prospect in Boston’s farm system and should continue to climb those rankings, especially if he can work his way up to Low-A Salem before the end of the minor-league season.

(Picture of JetBlue Park: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)