For years, Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Pérez was a stalwart in the lineup. From 2013-2018, he played in at least 129 games each season, which is exceptional for a catcher. In 2019, he missed the whole season due to Tommy John surgery, leaving the Royals in an unfamiliar spot, something they haven’t experienced since, like, 2011 or 2012. Perez has been a rock solid option in fantasy, too, providing nice pop for the position, and prior to 2018, his .245-.270 batting average was welcomed by fantasy owners with open arms.

From 2015-2018, Perez hit at least 21 home runs, with 52 runs scored and 64 RBI in each season. Rock solid if I must say so. His batting average was generally solid, with some fluctuations, but he was a victim of a .245 BABIP in 2018 that pushed his batting average down to .235 in 2018. Was it an outlier? I believe so.

His hard contact rate was up from years past, and in fact, it was the highest mark of his career. Additionally, his soft contact rate of 12.0 percent was the lowest of his career. Hmm… So, you’re telling me he made less soft contact than any previous season, and more hard contact than any previous season, but his batting average went down!? His xBA of .260 shows that his batting average should have been closer to where it was in year’s past.

Furthermore, his average exit velocity continues to rise, and so did the barrel rate. LOVE THAT!

Year

Avg. Exit Velocity

Barrel %

2015

87.3

5.3%

2016

88.8

6.3%

2017

88.5

9.4%

2018

91.2

10.8%

Courtesy of Baseball Savant

Also, to put things into consideration, take a look at where some of his marks from 2018 would have ranked in 2019 amongst catchers.

 

2018 Mark

Would Be 2019 Rank

Average Exit Velo

91.2

1st

Avg. Exit Velo on FB/LD

94.3

T-8th

Barrel %

10.8%

7th

Launch Angle

18.0

3rd

Courtesy of Baseball Savant

Perez continued his recent trend of swinging a bit more, and sure, he went out of the zone more than ever before in 2018 causing him to whiff more. However, if that’s a trade-off of getting more hard contact, I’m sure there are no qualms from anyone on that front.

Another minor thing I find encouraging, is that after an insane pull rate of 53 percent back in 2017, Perez evened out that mark, and his 46.7 percent pull rate in 2018 is much closer to his career average. That is definitely a good thing, and shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Lastly, before diving into some projections and how undervalued Perez is, there could be something worth noting in how pitchers pitch to Perez, in terms of pitch usage. It could also be a shift in the league’s mentality, but in 2017 and 2018, Perez only saw the hard stuff 53 and 55 percent of the time. Prior to 2017, that mark had only been below 60 percent one time. It’s a viable strategy, considering when you see Perez’s batting average against pitches by year.

Perez might not hit .260 this year, but rest assured, he will not hit .235 again.

Steamer projects Perez to hit 27 home runs with 66 runs scored, 82 RBI and a .252 batting average. Do you know how many other catchers are expected to meet those marks? Zero. None. Zilch. Nada. Not one other catcher. Also, Perez is the only catcher, per Steamer projections, expected to notch at least 80 RBI this season. Not Gary Sánchez , not J.T. Realmuto , not Yasmani Grandal . Perez is the lone ranger in this category.

So, with that in mind, Perez is probably one of the first two or three catchers off the board, right? Nope. He’s currently the seventh catcher off the board per NFBC data. Not only are the three catchers mentioned above going before Perez, but so is Minnesota’s Mitch Garver , Chicago’s Wilson Contreras and Los Angeles’ Will Smith .

For his career, Perez is typically a fast starter in terms of batting average, and then hits a midseason lull, but after missing a full year of injury, it might be a slower start than normal for Perez, but he’s slated to be the team’s regular catcher, and playing in the American League gives him the luxury of the pseudo-days off by serving as the team’s designated hitter when he needs a break from the rigors of catching.

To be completely honest, Perez is one of my favorite values behind the dish here in 2020. He’s not the flashy play, and there might be more risk with Perez compared to years past, but he has a steady history of being one of the more reliable producers at a rather weak position.

Statistical Credits:
fangraphs.com
baseballsavant.mlb.com
nfc.shgn.com/adp/baseball