Eury Pérez Considers Pitching To Be Fun

When my colleague Ben Clemens wrote about Eury Pérez a week ago Tuesday, he called him “amazing.” It’s an apt description. Over his first 10 big-league starts, the 6-foot-8 Miami Marlins right-hander is 5–2 with a 2.47 ERA, a 3.61 FIP, and 54 strikeouts in 47.1 innings. Moreover, if not for a clunker in his most recent outing — six runs allowed and just one out recorded against the powerhouse Atlanta Braves — his numbers would be even better. Less than three months after celebrating his 20th birthday, Pérez has already established himself as one the best young pitchers in the game. His bona fides preceded his mid-May debut; the precocious youngster came into this season ranked as our top pitching prospect (and No. 3 overall on our Top 100).

Pérez has matured exponentially, both physically and as a pitcher, since being signed by Miami out of the Dominican Republic in July 2019. Reportedly 170 pounds when he inked his first contract, he’s now listed at a sturdy 220. His fastball velocity has grown just as much, climbing as high as triple digits and averaging a firm 97.6 mph. He’s also honed his secondary offerings: a changeup, a curveball, and a slider.

I asked the über-talented Santo Domingo native about his development path when the Marlins visited Fenway Park last week.

“It was around my 13th or 14th birthday when I started understanding a little more about the game,” Pérez explained, with Marlins media liaison Luis Dorante Jr. serving as an interpreter. “That’s when I really started learning how to pitch. When I was around 16 or 17, I started throwing faster; I was able to reach 95 [mph] at some point. I’d say that 2021 is when I started pitching like I do now.”

Pérez pointed to the 2020 pandemic year when addressing his physicality strides. He’d already been hitting the gym and running — “There was a lot of running involved” — but it was then that he truly began “taking developing [his] body seriously.”

Added size and strength translated to increased fastball velocity, and as valuable as that is, a good movement profile can be every bit as important. Pérez believes that he’s had it all along. He recalls getting a lot of swings and misses on his heater even before his velocity began to spike. As he put it, “The movement was good, and once I added the speed, that’s what I’ve got right now.”

His entire repertoire has been effective, as evidenced by his 87th-percentile whiff rate and his 77th-percentile chase rate. As Ben wrote in last week’s article, hitters having to focus on his extreme heat — Pérez’s velocity is in the 95th percentile, and his spin rate in the 99th — makes his secondaries all the more effective. As for which of them is his second-best pitch, that’s a matter of opinion. To Pérez, there is no definitive answer.

“It’s hard for me to pinpoint specifically, because I use them all to get outs,” he said. “I’d say that all three are my best secondary pitch.”

Nick Fortes has been behind the plate for most of the righty’s starts, and he more or less agrees with that sentiment. Ditto on hitters having to respect the high-octane fastball, making each of the secondaries more effective than they would be in a vacuum. The 26-year-old backstop was understandably effusive in his praise of the young hurler.

“I’m not really sure who he compares to,” Fortes said. “He resembles Sandy [Alcantara] and Edward Cabrera on our staff in that there is wipeout stuff, but I’ve never caught anyone else like that who is only 20 years old. He’s honestly one of a kind. He’s got electric stuff that you don’t see from someone his age.”

Hitters haven’t seen the likes of Pérez either, which is a big reason why he’s off to a scintillating start in what projects to be an All-Star–caliber career. To say he presents a huge challenge for anyone stepping into the batter’s box would be an understatement. Standing on the mound, Pérez is the one holding the trump cards — a fact of which he’s well aware. Equal parts humble and confident, he responded with a smile when I asked if he considers pitching fun.

“Yes,” Pérez said. “Of course it is.”