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Peraza's Time Draws Near
It's hard to find quality offensive players at either shortstop or second base. That's common knowledge. That's why teams like the Yankees are rumored to be looking to the trade market for some help. One such guy they have been rumored to like is Jose Peraza.
Now the Braves' front office says it has no interest in dealing Peraza. We've heard that song before when it came to Craig Kimbrel earlier this season. I personally believe that the Braves would be willing to deal Peraza if the price was right.
However, to know his value we have to know the player. So what makes Jose Peraza so special? How about the fact that he stole a combined 60 bases last year. Or, that the year before that he stole 64. Additionally, both years he was caught stealing only 15 times. He already has 11 this year in just 124 PAs.
Alright, so he has some speed. Big deal. What else can he do for your team? Well, he has hit .302 across five levels of the minors. Or maybe you'll be more enticed by the fact that he's scored more than 70 runs the past two seasons in a row.
At this point you might be asking yourself what can't he do? Well, he can't hit for power. When you're single season high is two home runs, you're not exactly home run derby material.
Now for the real question: when are the Braves going to call this guy up? My bet is sooner rather than later. Alberto Callapso can barely be categorized as special, and fellow prospect Jace Peterson has been struggling to the tune of .182 average so far this season. Meanwhile, Peraza has shown that he can handle Triple-A pitching and should be promoted shortly after the All-Star Break if not sooner. He is currently carrying a .300/.339/.345 triple slash, with a miniscule 8.1% strikeout rate.
Can anyone of you name one brand name bat in the Braves lineup that isn't named Freddie Freeman? I can't, and that says a lot about the sort of lineup that Peraza will find himself in once he is promoted. His speed will still allow him to create his own runs, but don't expect him to be driven in as much as fellow second base prospect Devon Travis. Not everyone has the luxury of hitting in the Jays lineup.
The cliche has become to compare all speedy second basemen to Dee Gordon. I'm guilty of it myself in my Micah Johnson piece. It's not a great comparison though because Dee has proven himself at the Major League level. He's the best case scenario for these type of players, or at the very least towards their ceilings.
I'm not going to compare Peraza to another player in the majors. Instead, I'll just tell you what sort of player I think he can be given every day at-bats. On the low end he'll hit .250 and steal 20 bags. On the high end he'll hit .285 with somewhere between 40-50 steals.
It's easy to see why the Yankees want to trade for him. It's also easy to see why it would require a player like Luis Severino or Aaron Judge to acquire him. It's early yet to jump on the Peraza bandwagon, but you'd be smart to hitch a ride.
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