RADIO
Salvador Perez’s 2015 was rather impressive, as he ended the year with a line that had identical RBIs (70), SBs (1), and batting averages (.260) as his 2014. He upped his homers to 21, a career best, in 553 plate appearances (he logged 606 in 2014), so the power stroke was out to play.
Ever the free swinger, Perez saw his walk rate drop from an already minuscule 3.6% to 2.4%, while he swung and missed a bit more (8% to 9%). While it wasn’t a huge ding on him, it does point to why he is hitting for more power than he used to, but won’t be hitting .300 again at this rate.
As a catcher his legs aren’t going to win him many base hits, but he is hell bent on putting the ball in play. Steamer has him correcting his plate discipline metrics back to 2014 levels, and producing a similar line (16 homers with 60 RBIs) with a higher average (.273). Maybe they’ll talk to him and try to get him to cool it on the home run cuts, but that’s pure speculation.
It is worth noting that he is a much better hitter against righties, hitting 17 of his 21 homers against them with a .281 average in 378 PAs. Compare this with hitting .215 with 4 homers against lefties in 175 PAs, and you can read the signs. In the end, his power numbers look to justify a top 10 placement, draft appropriately.
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