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As of this writing, playing time is a bit of an issue for Jose Peraza. Brandon Phillips won’t accept a trade even though the team has tried to deal him for years. Zack Cozart, one of my favorites (not), is still with the team. Have to think at this point that he’s the starter at short, warts and all. The outfield looks like it will be Adam Duvall, Billy Hamilton and... Scott Schebler? Of course, Jesse Winker is coming too, and at some point he will be starting in the outfield for this team in 2017. As for Peraza, he appeared in 31 games at shortstop, 21 in the outfield and 12 at second base which is why I mentioned all three spots with the Reds. So where does Peraza play? It’s a bit uncertain at the moment. Still, I’m suggesting that you draft Peraza. The reasons follow.
1 – Cozart will be traded or struggle. Come on, you know it will happen.
2 – There’s always a chance that Phillips eventually accepts a trade. Maybe.
NOTE: This trade did indeed happen.
Reds Receive: LHP Andrew McKirahan and RHP Carlos Portuondo, $13 million
Braves Receive: 2B Brandon Phillips
This opens up second base for Peraza to run away with the job. You can read more about the deal in Phillips Dealt to Braves.
3 – Injuries are a huge aspect of playing time for everyone. Take the case of Billy Hamilton. He’s failed to appear in 120 games either of the last two years. Playing time always seems to open up.
4 – The performance of others. Schebler was solid last season, but that career .263/.329/.440 doesn’t impress to the point that it should block Peraza. How long will it take Winker to carve out a role in the big leagues? That’s another position to consider.
5 – Peraza is a really talented player who needs to be in the lineup.
Peraza hit .324 with a .352 OBP and .411 SLG last year. Compare that to Hamilton: .260/.321/.343. Yep, Peraza was better across the board.
Speaking of Hamilton, Peraza has a similar offensive game of hit the ball on the ground and run really fast. Peraza has a 1.43 GB/GB ratio in 79 games the last two years. He also owns a 27.0 percent line drive rate and .346 BABIP. Those are huge numbers. Could he hold them? Maybe the BABIP cause of the speed, but both numbers are likely going down. That’s fine. I’m not going to suggest Peraza is a .324 hitter anyway, but could he hit .284 which would be a massive pullback of .040 points from last season? He could certainly do that. He’s gotta walk more though with just nine in 79 games being a troubling mark. That’s the missing piece to support the large batting average.
But this guy’s game is really about speed.
Peraza stole 21 bases last season. He appeared in just 72 games. He was also caught 10 times, he must clean that up (become more efficient), but 31 stolen base attempts in 72 games is a huge number in 2017. Context.
Last year there were 28 men who stole 20 bases.
Only four of those men appeared in less than 105 games: Trea Turner, Dee Gordon, Keon Broxton and Peraza.
Of those 28 men nine hit .300.
Of those 28 men 14 had a .350 OBP.
Realize that Peraza was a rookie playing multiple positions and he was one of the nine men who had a .300 average, a .350 OBP and 20 steals in 2017.
Speaking of those slash line marks, Peraza showed little platoon splits either which is very heartening for a young player.
Career | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA |
vs. lefties | .299 | .342 | .448 | .338 |
vs. righties | .316 | .343 | .388 | .317 |
A rather limited big league career is buttressed by excellent minor league work during which time his slash line looks just like his big-league line.
Career | AVG | OBP | SLG |
Minors | .299 | .341 | .386 |
Majors | .312 | .343 | .403 |
The speed? Even better results in the minors than with the Reds. Here are his steal totals as a professional.
Year | Steals | Games/Level |
2012 | 25 | 53/Rookie |
2013 | 64 | 114/A |
2014 | 60 | 110/A+AA |
2015 | 36 | 125/AAA/MLB |
2016 | 31 | 143/AAA/MLB |
And then there is this. Everyone loves his skills. Here are his overall rankings amongst all minor leaguers the past two years.
Year | Baseball America | Baseball Prospectus | MLB.com |
2015 | 54th | 92nd | 38th |
2016 | 66th | 81st | 71st |
Peraza qualifies at shortstop and outfield in all leagues (or he should, with some leagues also adding second base eligibility). That’s huge. He runs, and in this age of station to station baseball, a player who has a legitimate shot to steal at least 30 bases is a significant fantasy performer (only 14 men reached that mark last year). Obviously, Peraza has the talent to blow past 30 steals with full-time work as well.
I buy skills on draft day.
So should you.
I’m in.
You should be too.
Player News
Trea Turner went 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs on Sunday night, propelling the Phillies to a 3-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Turner got the Phillies on the board in the third inning with an RBI single off of Jameson Taillon that plated Bryson Stott. He then strolled to the dish with the bases loaded and one out in the 10th inning, and hit a slow roller to third base that he beat out at first to bring in another run. With his three-hit attack, the 31-year-old infielder is now slashing .262/.345/.330 on the season with just one homer, nine RBI and six stolen bases.
Bryson Stott tripled, walked and scored a run on Sunday night as the Phillies eked out an extra-inning victory over the Cubs in Chicago.
Stott smacked a one-out triple off of Jameson Taillon in the third inning then scored the Phillies’ first run on the night as Trea Turner smacked a single into left field. He also worked a walk during his squad’s two-run rally in the 10th inning. For the season, the 27-year-old second baseman is now hitting .292/.367/.438 with two homers, 14 RBI and five stolen bases.
Jordan Romano notched his second save of the season on Sunday night, working a scoreless 10th inning against the Cubs to protect a two-run lead.
The 32-year-old right-hander looked sharp in this one, getting Michael Busch on strikes to start the inning and then Dansby Swanson on a fly ball to left field. He then got Nico Hoerner on a comebacker to end the ballgame. He’s still buried on the depth chart for saves at the moment, but it’s nice to see Romano start to figure things out on the mound, throwing 10 of his 13 pitches for strikes on Sunday. He still sports a horrifying 12.19 ERA on the season.
Aaron Nola pitched well in a no-decision against the Cubs on Sunday evening, allowing one run on three hits over his seven innings.
The 31-year-old right-hander racked up six strikeouts in what was his finest start of the season while allowing only one base on balls. The only damage done against him came on an RBI double off the bat of Pete Crow-Armstrong in the second inning. Aside from that, Nola was in complete command. He got 16 swings and misses on 99 pitches on the night — four or more on each of his changeup, knuckle curve and cutter — while posting a CSW of 30 percent. He’ll look to further improve upon his 5.40 ERA and 1.40 WHIP when he takes on the Diamondbacks at home on Saturday.
Ryan Pressly (knee) looked terrific in his return to action on Sunday night, working a scoreless ninth inning in a tied game against the Phillies.
Pressly was tasked with facing the heart of the Phillies’ lineup and got right to work — getting Trea Turner on a ground ball to third base and Bryce Harper on a ground ball to shortstop. He then issued a two-out walk to Kyle Schwarber before retiring Nick Castellanos on a fly ball to end the inning. The right-hander showed no signs of his right knee issue bothering him and his velocity was exactly where you’d hope it would be. It looks like Pressly still has a lock on the closer’s gig for the time being.
Jameson Taillon was outstanding in a no-decision against the Phillies on Sunday night, surrendering only one run on five hits over seven strong frames.
The right-hander struck out two batters on the evening and did not issue a free pass. He induced a ton of weak contact and kept the Phillies’ hitters off-balance for much of the evening. The only run that scored against him came on an RBI single by Trea Turner in the third inning. Taillon got just four whiffs on 88 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 20 percent. The 33-year-old hurler now boasts a 4.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a 26/7 K/BB ratio over 33 2/3 innings through his first six starts on the season. He’ll take on the Brewers his next time out in Milwaukee on Saturday.