A look at Eury Perez’s rise to Marlins’ top prospect. Plus an update on Kahlil Watson
.jpg "Miami Marlins pitcher prospect Eury Perez throws for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos against the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Friday, May 13, 2022.")
The Miami Marlins’ representation in MLB’s All-Star festivities in Los Angeles extends beyond ace Sandy Alcantara and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Their top prospect is making his way to Los Angeles as well as he continues his fast rise through Miami’s system.
Eury Perez, the Marlins’ 19-year-old right-handed pitcher phenom, is the organization’s lone prospect selected to take part in MLB’s Futures Game, which highlights the league’s top up-and-coming players who have yet to make their big-league debuts. The seven-inning game starts at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dodger Stadium and will be broadcast live on Peacock and SiriusXM, with MLB Network producing the telecast.
Perez’s selection shouldn’t come as a surprise. He is the top player in Miami’s system and checks in as No. 4 pitcher prospect and No. 16 overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.
And he has lived up to that ranking this season.
Perez has a 3.05 ERA over 13 starts for the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and has 87 strikeouts against just 14 walks while holding opponents to a .188 batting average in that span.
But his production and evolution becomes even more impressive when you consider most of the damage against him came in his first three starts, when he gave up nine earned runs in 11 2/3 innings as he adjusted to facing older competition.
Perez’s stats over the 10 games since then: A 1.98 ERA (11 earned runs in 50 innings), 69 strikeouts against just nine walks, a .166 batting average against and 70 percent of his pitches landing for strikes.
He’s comfortably using all of his pitches, led by a fastball that sits around 93-96 mph but has topped out in the upper-90s that is paired with a mid-80s changeup and a curveball.
“To do that at 19 is just incredible,” general manager Kim Ng said. “He’s got incredible poise and presence on the mound. Nothing shakes this guy.”
Where has Kahlil Watson been?
Shortstop Kahlil Watson, the Marlins’ first-round pick in the 2021 draft and the No. 51 overall prospect in baseball, has not played in a game since July 1 for disciplinary reasons.
While specifics were not provided, a source told the Miami Herald the situation is being handled internally and Watson could potentially return to the Single A Jupiter Hammerheads lineup at some point this week.
Watson is hitting .221 with eight home runs, 11 doubles, 35 RBI, 12 stolen bases and 36 runs scored in 59 games but has also struck out in 99 of his 252 plate appearances (39.3 percent).
This and that
▪ Infielder Jose Salas has stayed hot since being promoted to High A Beloit two weeks ago. The 19-year-old switch hitter is hitting .333 (16 for 48) with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, eight runs scored and four stolen bases over his first 11 games with the Sky Carp. Salas has six multi-hit games so far in Beloit, including a 5-for-5, three-RBI outing on Saturday.
▪ In four starts with Triple A Jacksonville since returning from right ulnar nerve irritation, right-handed pitcher Max Meyer has a 1.96 ERA (four earned runs in 18 1/3 innings) with 21 strikeouts against seven hits and five walks. Opponents are hitting just .119 against him with a .186 slugging mark and .374 on-base-plus-slugging in that span. He threw 88 pitches, his most since returning from the injury, over 4 2/3 innings on Saturday.
▪ Infielder Yiddi Cappe, the Marlins’ top international free agent signing in 2021, has five home runs and 21 RBI over 24 games in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 9:02 AM.
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