Miami Marlins calling up top prospect Eury Perez. A look at the team’s plan for him
Eury Perez, the Miami Marlins’ top prospect and No. 10 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, is making his way to the big leagues.
The Marlins are calling up the 20-year-old, 6-8 right-handed pitcher ahead of their upcoming homestand that starts Friday against the Cincinnati Reds. The decision was announced on the Bally Sports Broadcast in the fifth inning of the Marlins’ 5-4 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
At 20 years and 27 days old Friday, he will be the youngest pitcher in Marlins history when he debuts Friday. The previous youngest pitcher before him? Jose Fernandez, who was 20 years and 250 days old when he made his debut in 2013.
“Watching Eury over the last year and a half and seeing the way that he’s performed gave us great confidence in his ability to come up here and do well,” Marlins general manager Kim Ng said Wednesday.
The Marlins will have to make a corresponding move to add him to both the 40-man roster and the 26-man active roster.
Perez took part in his first big-league spring training this season after spending the offseason working out with Marlins ace and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, who has become a mentor of sorts to Perez.
The experience was beneficial for Perez even though he didn’t break camp with the club. When the organization reassigned him to minor-league camp, the message was he still had boxes to check.
Perez has made six starts so far for the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and pitched to a 3.32 ERA with 42 strikeouts against nine walks, a .148 batting average against and 0.81 walks and hits per inning pitched ratio over 31 innings.
“Exciting for him. Exciting for the organization,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “[He’s] our top prospect. He has a bright future, enormous talent and we’re looking forward to seeing him take the mound. It’s going to be a really exciting time for the organization to see him walk through that clubhouse.”
His promotion comes at a time when the Marlins are looking for consistency from their starting rotation. Johnny Cueto and Trevor Rogers are on the injured list with biceps injuries. Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett have been spotty. Sandy Alcantara has begun to string together a few quality outings after struggling to start the season, as well.
Overall, Marlins starters have pitched through at least the sixth inning in just nine of 38 games this season.
“We’re at a spot where Trevor and Johnny are going to be out for a bit,” Ng said. “I thought it made sense.”
Whether Perez can provide that needed length, though, remains to be seen. He has only pitched six full innings four times in the minors and never threw more than 90 pitches in a game.
Last week, he pitched on four days’ rest — the typical routine for a big-league starting pitcher — for the first time in his pro ball career. Perez has pitched at least five innings and held opponents to no more than one run over each of his past four outings after giving up eight runs (five earned) over nine innings in his first two starts of the 2023 season.
Perez last pitched on Sunday for Pensacola, meaning he will be on four-days rest to start the Marlins’ series opener against the Reds on Friday. Bryan Hoeing was listed as Miami’s scheduled starter for Friday in the team’s pregame notes but entered Wednesday’s game against the Diamondbacks in the fifth inning.
“This is going to be a situation where we are going to be watching him very closely,” Ng said, “and monitoring everything that goes on in the game — what his pitch count is, how stressful those pitches have been. It’s going to be an entire group of people making sure that we do the best thing for him.”
Perez’s pitch arsenal, though, is one rife with potential. His fastball hits triple digits and his changeup is great at generating swings and misses. He also has a slider that he is continuing to develop to give him an effective third pitch.
He has the makings to be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher in the big leagues in due time.
Schumaker, however, doesn’t want Perez feeling that type of pressure when he takes the mound Friday.
“I think we have to temper the expectations a little bit,” Schumaker said. “He’s 20 years old. He’s supposed to be a junior in college, and he’s going to be facing the Reds. I think we have to just slow down the expectations a little bit, but he’s earned it. It’s not just because we needed somebody. He’s earned this position. I think that’s what should be taken away. It’s not just ‘Let’s see what this 20-year-old can do.’ He’s earned every bit of getting a promotion and I think a lot of the guys in there are excited to see him walk through those doors.”
This story was originally published May 10, 2023 at 5:12 PM.
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