The Yankees lean into the catcher demographic when scouting international amateurs.
Signed out of Venezuela for just $50,000 in March 2023, Perez produced in his first taste of pro ball in the States. The undersized, 5-foot-10 backstop ranked second in the Florida Complex League with 45 walks and third with a .444 on-base percentage.
The 18-year-old also threw out 26% of basestealers and ranked as the Yankees’ top prospect on a talented FCL affiliate that had the second best record in the league.
“He’s more of a compact hitter with a catcher profile,” Yankees hitting coordinator Joe Migliaccio said. “He squares it up all the time.
“His hard-hit rate is much higher than league average, (and) he has a knack for really getting the barrel on the ball.”
Perez still has a long way to go in his development, but scouts believe that if he continues on his current trajectory that he could project as a potential everyday catcher, one who would likely slot into the bottom of a batting order.
For Perez to get to that point, the Yankees would like to see him drive the ball in the air more often.
“We’re hoping to see less ground balls and more line drives as he continues to develop, (and) as he gets into his age 19 and age 20 seasons,” Migliaccio said. “But what’s really exciting about him is his bat-to-ball (skills) are really impressive.
“He’s likely going to be a single-digit miss (rate) guy, hovering around 10–11% in-zone. Low strikeout rate, high walk rate. He really knows the strike zone . . . (His) barrel accuracy is impressive. We just want to get him in the air more, (get) those line drives over the infielders’ heads.”
Perez won’t turn 19 until the end of next May and should be ticketed for Low-A Tampa at some point in 2025, if not to start the year.