Cincinnati Reds new #7 Prospect: 2B Jose Peraza

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When the season began for Jose Peraza he was playing in Gwinnett for the Atlanta Braves Triple-A affiliate. He got out to a slow start for the Braves, going just 6-28 (.214) over the first week of the season, but he didn’t strike out in seven games and had two walks. The second week of the season went much better as Peraza racked up multi-hit games in four of his six games played, hitting .346 on the week. Over his final eight games of April he would slump, going just 6-26 (.231) to finish the month. He would post a .263/.310/.300 line, showing no power at all, but walking six times with just nine strikeouts and going a perfect five-for-five on stolen base attempts.

With a rough start to the year, the flip of the calendar was just what was needed. The second baseman had a hit in all six games in the first week of May, posting a .462 average as he racked up 12 hits in 26 at-bats with just one strikeout. The following week wasn’t quite as good, but he had hits in six of his seven games and hit .310 with a walk and three strikeouts on the week. After not playing for six days, he returned to the lineup on My 21st and picked up where he left off, going 2-5 with a home run. He would go 1-4 the next night, but then go into a slump, going 0-12 over the next three games. After an off day, the 21-year-old would finish the month out by going 6-18 (.333) in the final five games. May proved to be a nice rebound month for Peraza, posting a .319/.354/.447 line with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, four walks and just eight strikeouts in 101 plate appearances. He also stole nine bases in ten attempts.

June got out to a slow start for the infielder, going 4-21 (.190) over the course of five games in the first week without a walk or extra-base hit. The next week was a nice step forward, racking up hits in five of the six games played for Gwinett, posting a .320 average with two walks and two steals. The third week of June was even better for Peraza. In six games he went 10-23 (.435) with two triples, posting an OPS over 1.000 for the week. The final nine games of the month saw him go into a bit of a slump though as he hit just .231 and had six strikeouts without a walk. He would finish the month with a .287 average, but with just two walks on the month that meant he had a .289 on-base percentage to go with a .343 slugging percentage. He did add six more steals, pushing his season total to 20, but was caught three times in the month.

The first four games of July were a bit rough for Peraza, going just 3-19, but he picked things up in the final four games of the first week (there was a double header in there, hence eight games in seven days), going 5-15. In the second week of the month he would go 5-18 in four games with a walk and no strikeouts. The third week was a big step forward as he carried his hitting streak through the week, extending it to nine games by going 10-24 (.417) with a triple. The hitting streak would continue into the final week of July, reaching 13 games before going 0-4 on the 26th. In the eight games to end the month he went 10-33 (.303) with two doubles and a triple. He was traded by the Braves on July 30th to the Dodgers. For the month he posted a .303/.322/.413 line with three walks and five strikeouts, while adding six more stolen bases.

With a new organization, the Dodgers assigned Peraza to their Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. After ending July on a modest three game hitting streak the infielder kept things rolling by racking up hits in all eight games played during the week (another double header) to extend the hitting streak to 11 games. He hit .438 with three doubles and a home run on the week. After extending the streak to 12 games on the 8th, he would see it end with an 0-3 game on the 9th. The next night he was in Los Angeles making his big league debut with the Dodgers where he went 1-4 with a double. He would get into one more game, going 0-2 on the 12th before heading back to Oklahoma City. The return to the minors wasn’t a great one. In the first week back he would hit .214 without a walk or an extra- base hit. In the first five games of the next week he would hit .217 without a walk or an extra-base hit, but found himself back in Los Angeles at the end of the month, where he would remain for the rest of the season. He would get into just five games in the final five weeks though, going 3-16. In Triple-A, for the month of August he would hit .289/.304/.378 with two walks and 10 strikeouts. He also added seven steals in as many chances as he pushed his total to 33 at the minor league level.

Overall his season was solid, but unspectacular. He would hit .293, but post only a .316 on-base percentage due to a low walk total and also didn’t hit for much power. He did steal 33 bases to boost his overall offensive production, but it was a step backwards for the 21-year-old from his 2014 campaign.

Scouting Report

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Hitting | An above-average tool for Peraza who makes a ton of contact and can use the entire field.

Power | A well below-average tools that doesn’t project to grow much as he matures. He’s unlikely to reach double digit home runs in a given season moving forward.

Running | He’s got plus-plus speed that he uses well on the bases with 40 steals not out of the question for him in the future.

Arm | His arm rates out as average to slightly above-average and should play well at second base, or be solid if he winds up spending time at shortstop.

Defense | He shows good range at second base to both sides and has good hands. At shortstop his range is a bit more limited, but he can make the routine plays just fine.

Jose Peraza has flashy speed and he makes contact at rates with the best in the game, but his upside does seem limited due to his complete lack of power at the plate. There’s a potential he could carry a high average in the Major Leagues, but it’s likely that it will be somewhat empty due to a low walk rate and the lack of power. He has enough pitch recognition skills that a mental adjustment to lay off of pitches that he can make contact on, but aren’t in the strikezone could improve his walk rate some moving forward as well as perhaps help him boost his average as well. At just 22-years-old, this may come with more experience or with the help of the right person saying the correct thing to him. While power is never going to be a part of his game, if he learns to pull the ball a little more frequently, he could add some additional extra-base hits, as right now he goes to the opposite field nearly twice as often and the small amount of power he does have doesn’t play well in that direction. Where he could also add plenty of value is by using his speed on the bases, both as a base stealer and as a base runner. On the defensive side of the ball he projects to be an above-average defender at second base where he should have good range and a good arm for the position. Well below-average power is the only part of his game that doesn’t project well, but there is some risk in hitters with his skillset translating to the Major Leagues. At worst, he could be a useful utility player who provides plenty of contact off of the bench and speed when you need it. At best he’s an above-average regular who carries a strong average with good defense and plenty of steals.

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