Marlins send Eury Perez to minor-league camp. What Schumaker saw from the top prospect

It’s safe to say Eury Perez impressed the Miami Marlins this spring training. The 19-year-old right-handed pitcher, a consensus top-15 prospect in all of baseball, showcased his raw talent and gave the coaching staff and front office an up-close-and-personal look at his long-term potential.

But for now, Perez’s time with the big-league club has come to an end.

The Marlins on Monday reassigned Perez to minor-league camp as one of seven cuts from big-league camp entering the final week of spring training.

Perez came into spring training, his first with the big league club, hoping to make the Opening Day roster even though the chances of him doing so were slim. He is confident in his ability, and that’s easy to do with the type of repertoire he has — a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and touches 100, a swing-and-miss changeup and a pair of breaking balls that have the potential to be above-average.

“19 years old, first big league camp, throwing 100 miles an hour with a couple of secondary pitches is as good as you’re going to see from a pitching prospect,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “He knows that he’s not a finished product.”

That was evident during spring training. While Perez dazzled at times over his four appearances in Grapefruit League games, he giving up 10 runs (nine earned runs) over 10 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts against two walks.

Continuing to get experience and fine-tune his attack are the natural next steps for Perez, who is entering his third season of professional baseball.

Perez spent all of last season with the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and impressed despite being one of the youngest pitchers at the level in 2022. He struck out 34 percent of the batters he faced — 106 of 311 — in 75 innings, missing time late in the season due to a lat strain. Before the injury, Perez had a 10-game stretch in which he posted a 1.98 ERA with 69 strikeouts against nine walks and a .166 batting average against over 50 innings. He was the Marlins’ representative in the All-Star Futures Game last year.

“I believe probably a little more experience I will need to obtain and face more experienced hitters. Some of this stuff will help me as well,” Perez said earlier in camp. “I think I’m probably going to have to gain a little more weight so I can maintain myself in the game a little longer, gain a little more stamina.”

Perez spent parts of the offseason working with Marlins ace and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara and the two were nearly inseparable during camp.

“Some guys say that he’s my son,” Alcantara said Saturday, “but he’s not. He’s a guy I just need to work with. He’s here with us to get better, to learn how to compete and how to get to the big leagues.”

The other moves made Monday: Relief pitchers Eli Villalobos and Josh Simpson as well as outfielder/first baseman Jerar Encarnacion were optioned to Triple A Jacksonville, while catcher Paul McIntosh, infielder Alex De Goti and left-handed pitcher Enmanuel De Jesus were reassigned to minor-league camp.

This and that

▪ Luis Arraez, in his first spring training game back with the Marlins since returning from the World Baseball Classic, went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk while playing six innings at second base in Miami’s 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

▪ Left-handed pitcher Daniel Castano threw five shutout innings, giving up just three hits and a walk while striking out four. He threw 65 pitches, 45 of which were for strikes. Castano has been used as both a starter and long reliever with the Marlins over the past three seasons. He is not on the 40-man roster at the moment after being designated for assignment following the Johnny Cueto signing in January.