You haven’t heard it out of Mike Scioscia‘s mouth, not yet anyways, but just because he hasn’t said it doesn’t mean we don’t already know that the Angels have a new starting catcher: Carlos Perez.
The rookie backstop, at least temporarily, has taken over the everyday Angels catching job from veteran Chris Iannetta. Perez has proven in just a short time since his early May call up from Salt Lake City that he’s the superior option to Iannetta both offensively and defensively. Granted it’s probably closer between the two for the starting job than the numbers currently reflect but as it sits now, Iannetta is clearly the low man on the two-catcher totem pole.
At the plate, it’s been no comparison. Perez has seven hits in 25 at bats since his promotion on Cinco de Mayo. One of those hits, of course, being his game-winning walk-off home run against the Seattle Mariners in his major league debut, something that had only been done three times previously in Major League Baseball history.
Iannetta also has seven hits. Unfortunately, they’ve come in 69 at bats since Opening Day . Perez is slashing a respectable .280/.269/.440 with two extra base hits in seven games. Meanwhile Iannetta sports an awful line of .101/.203./.116 in his 23 games. That will certainly lead to some job turnover.
Perez has had flashes of brilliance not just at the plate since joining the Angels, but also behind it as well. His first inning gun down of elite base stealer Jose Altuve of the Astros in just his third MLB undoubtedly started to turn heads in both dugouts and around the league in general. That key play set in motion what would be a clean first inning on the scoreboard for starting pitcher Jered Weaver and would eventually culminate in Weaver’s first complete game shutout since the 2012 season.
Including Altuve, Perez has now thrown out five runners on the bases and allowing only one steal. That’s an 83.3% caught stealing rate if you’re counting. Iannetta has thrown out three runners this season and allowed 17 stolen bases amounting to a 15.0% caught stealing rate. Geez, Chris.
One way or another Perez just seems to constantly be contributing each night he is on the field. It probably feels like he’s done even more than he has considering Angels fans have had to live through Drew Butera, (now with the Kansas City Royals) who was eventually DFA’d to make room for Perez.
The real question though is, can he keep this up and continue to produce on a daily basis and stick behind the plate with the big club over the long haul? As clutch and productive as Perez has been, we are still talking about an exceptionally small sample of performance.
Based on his career in the minor leagues it appears that he most likely can hang in the majors. In his early developmental days in the minor leagues Perez was known as a catcher that had a hit tool that would drive his future success. Oddly that perception from scouts changed to Perez becoming a catcher whose defensive skill set would be what carried him to the major leagues, if he were to get ever there. At this point, it is safe to say it was the combination of both that landed Perez with the Angels.
The below the radar Perez was actually once a top 15 rated prospect by Baseball America in the Blue Jays organization between 2009 and 2012 before seemingly falling off the prospect boards. He was eventually sent to the Astros from the Blue Jays in a ten player trade that involved J.A. Happ. Perez has become the only prospect in that trade to have now made it to the majors.
In last November’s trade that saw the Halos deal backup catcher Hank Conger to the Astros for starting pitching prospect Nick Tropeano and Perez, Carlos appeared to be just the throw-in. Although Tropeano has himself contributed to the major league club this year with six solid innings in a spot starting role for C.J. Wilson, it’s been Perez who’s made the bigger impact.
I’m not sure if anyone saw this coming, and especially this fast. How could they? This time last year Perez wasn’t even starting in AAA let alone the big leagues. He was the second string catcher for the Astros’ Oklahoma City affiliate.
In a testament to the scouting abilities of GM Jerry Dipoto and Assistant GM Scott Servais along with their staffs, the Angels themselves obviously saw something they liked in Perez that others were either not taking notice of or just not cultivating.
That off-season trade once seemed like a nice win for the Angels netting Tropeano for Conger. It is starting to look like an absolute robbery with the development of Perez. It is still a headscratcher to think the Angels got BOTH Tropeano and Perez for Conger.
It would not be surprising to see Perez experience some growing pains as so often happens to young players and lose some sizzle as the year moves on. One thing Perez has not done yet in his first seven games is draw a single walk. We know the Angels brass relishes the importance of getting on base so he will have to show improvement there and further develop his plate discipline in order to continue his ascent. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if Scioscia turned back to Iannetta if he ever figures out his issues at the plate. Scioscia is notoriously fickle when it comes to his catchers and also infamous for favoring veterans over rookies, even when they don’t deserve it.
Right now the Angels will continue to ride their hot new hand behind the plate. Six wins, many of which he’s been a big part of, in his seven starts as the backstop is something that hasn’t gone unnoticed.
There’s no doubt Perez has the chance to win over a lot of fans in Anaheim with his story if this keeps up. Seven months ago we had no idea who Carlos Perez was, but now all the sudden we are already in love with him.
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