Wenceel Perez has been promoted to the Detroit Tigers
According to his own Instagram page, Detroit Tigers prospect Wenceel Perez is being promoted to the big leagues. The reel was first noticed by Tigers Torkmoil on Twitter, and has not yet been confirmed by the Detroit Tigers.
Early speculation is that Javier Báez may be headed to the injured list. He took a foul ball off his foot on Saturday and didn’t play at all on Sunday. Recent injuries to Ryan Kreidler and Eddys Leonard mean Buddy Kennedy and Wenceel Perez are the only healthy infielders on the 40-man roster. That said, Perez has played exclusively outfield so far this season.
EDIT: Our speculation was just that. Andy Ibáñez is the injured Tigers infielder.
So, let’s learn a little bit more about Wenceel Perez before his potential MLB debut.
Wenceel Perez’s Background
Wenceel Perez was Detroit’s top international signing in the 2016 class, earning a $550,000 bonus. He hails from Azua, Dominican Republic, the same hometown as Sandy Alcantara, Neftali Feliz, and former Tigers prospect Jairo Labourt.
A switch hitter, Perez instantly put himself on the prospect map by batting .314 with 16 steals in 2017, earning All-Star honors in the Dominican Summer League. His star continued to rise as he hit .312 in his U.S. debut in 2018, eventually making his way up to Low-A West Michigan.
But then things seemed to stagnate. Perez hit just .233 with a .613 OPS for the Whitecaps in 2019. Then he lost a year of development to the pandemic-shuttered 2020 season. He returned to Low-A (now in Lakeland) in 2021, but showed enough promise through 23 games that he was promoted to High-A West Michigan.
Perez seemed to hit a bit of a wall in High-A, posting a .662 OPS over 90 games. He returned to the Whitecaps to begin the 2022 season. But it soon became apparent Wenceel Perez had become a different hitter.
Perez made meaningful changes to his swing, drastically increasing his fly ball rate and power production. He slugged his way out of West Michigan, and then continued to hit in Double-A Erie, batting .307 and slugging .540 over 39 games.
A lingering back injury led to an early end to his 2022 season, and also caused a slow start in 2023. But he put up a 126 wRC+ after July 1st, earning a promotion to Triple-A Toledo in the process. He returned to the Mud Hens to start this year, and he’s off to a solid start. Through eight games Perez is batting .212 with five extra-base hits, four walks, and four stolen bases.
Wenceel Perez Scouting Report
You can read our full scouting report on Perez, but how about a quick and dirty version?
The main thing that stands out with Wenceel Perez is his approach at the plate. He’s not a walk machine like Justyn-Henry Malloy, but he works at-bats well and he has above-average bat-to-ball skills. He will chase breaking balls below the zone at times, but he’s also adept at fouling off borderline offerings.
There is some pop in this bat, particularly from the left side, but Perez mostly sprays line drives all over the field. He’s also an above-average runner who likes to leg out doubles and triples. And he shows good instincts on the basepaths, with 70 stolen bases in 84 tries since 2021.
The Trouble With Wenceel Perez
So what’s the catch? Perez is a good athlete with the agility and arm strength to play on the left side of the infield. Unfortunately, he has been afflicted with the yips for a few years now. First it led to him abandoning shortstop in favor of second base and third base. And then last year his throwing accuracy issues became so severe that he moved to the outfield.
Perez did return to the infield late last season, and the problem seemed to be resolved. But it cropped up again this spring, and he’s been playing in the grass exclusively for the Mud Hens. His outfield defense remains a work in progress, but he does have above-average range. The only other potential issue with Perez is that he swung much better from the left side (.874 OPS) than the right side (.514 OPS) last year. But that wasn’t a problem in previous seasons, so it may have just been an anomaly.
The Verdict
Perez has been playing pretty well this year, but this feels like a bit of an emergency move. With Ibáñez injured Zach McKinstry is now the primary backup infielder. That probably means more time at third base for Matt Vierling, which could potentially open an outfield spot for Perez.
Basically Perez offers A.J. Hinch the most versatility of any non-injured prospect on the 40-man roster. He’s a switch hitter with patience, speed, and some pop, and he can theoretically play infield and outfield. That sounds like a solid 26th man on the roster, and we suspect that’s how he’ll be used.
And Jerry wins our little contest about which prospect debuts first this year.
Rogelio Castillo