Eury Perez’s ‘big splash’ in minors another example of Miami Marlins’ pitching depth

Eury Perez stood tall during his first minor-league season, both literally and statistically.

The literal: The Miami Marlins’ right-handed pitcher prospect is 6-8 and 200 pounds, towering over most of his teammates and competition. He grew four inches and gained about 45 pounds since signing with the Marlins for $200,000 out of the Dominican Republic in July 2019.

The statistics: He had a 1.96 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 78 innings through 20 starts between Class A Jupiter and Class A Advanced Beloit. He was one of two pitchers in Miami’s minor-league system this year to pitch at least 70 innings and have a sub-2.00 ERA. The other was Jake Eder (1.77 ERA in 71 1/3 innings for Double A Pensacola before undergoing Tommy John surgery).

And with that a reminder: Perez is only 18 years old.

“Just honestly truly incredible,” Marlins director of minor-league operations Geoff DeGroot said. “You sign these guys — nobody really knows what they’re going to debut like — and he definitely came on and made a big splash. He’s the one that really stands out for me.”

But while Perez became a revelation inside the Marlins’ system — he’s now the No. 6 overall prospect inside the organization according to MLB Pipeline and was the organization’s minor-league pitcher of the year — Perez was confident he could put up the results he did in 2021.

“It wasn’t a surprise to me,” Perez said, “because I was expecting it. I worked for it.”

Should his success continue, Perez gives the Marlins another high-end pitching prospect to go along with the likes of Edward Cabrera, Max Meyer, Sixto Sanchez and Eder among a slew of others.

With that, there was one game he pitched this year that stood out. It was his Aug. 7 outing against the Tampa Tarpons, the Class A affiliate for the New York Yankees and Perez’s second-to-last start with the Jupiter Hammerheads before being promoted to the Class A Advanced Beloit Snappers. Perez threw 4 2/3 no-hit innings that day and struck out a career-high 11 batters.

To repeat that: 11 of the 14 outs he recorded were via strikeout, including nine swinging strikeouts.

Seven of those strikeouts came on his sinker, his primary pitch that sits between 91-95 mph and topped out at 96.2 mph on this day. Two more came on his changeup, which regularly sits in the high 80s and was the pitch he worked on the most heading into the season. He then recorded one strikeout apiece with the four-seam fastball and the curveball.

Perez induced 15 total swings and misses in that game.

But that game was just a microcosm of Perez’s consistency. Perez gave up one earned run or fewer in 16 of his 20 starts. He recorded more than four strikeouts for every walk allowed (108 strikeouts against 26 walks). Opponents hit just .158 against him.

“For me,” Perez said, “it was just taking advantage of the opportunity given to me. They put me in a league that was kind of advanced for people my age, but it was just going out there and showing people what I can do.”

Perez’s scouting report, per MLB Pipeline: “In addition to his stuff, Perez also impresses with how easily he generates it. He has a smooth delivery, keeps his long limbs in sync with surprising body control for such a tall teenager and fills the strike zone. He wasn’t fazed by facing older hitters at instructional league, displaying mound presence that adds to his mid-rotation starter upside.”

The next step for Perez is to get deeper into games. He never pitched more than five innings in a given start this year, which really was by design. With no minor-league season in 2020, the Marlins were cautious with their pitchers this season.

Perez’s first year was more about establishing a routine than it was necessarily about proving how far he can pitch into a game. The Marlins found the balance between challenging him to test his limits while also making sure he wasn’t pushed too far to the point where injuries occurred, which could have stunted his progress in the interim.

The base line has been established, and Perez is ready to build on his first season of professional baseball.

“Just keep working,” Perez said. “Keep developing.”

And continue to stand tall above the competition.

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