After having a solid season in 2012 with the Dayton Dragons the Cincinnati Reds sent Juan Perez to the Bakersfield Blaze where he spent his entire season playing shortstop.
April began slowly for Perez as he went just 1-8 in his first two games. The third game was a good one though as he went 3-5 with a double and 3 RBI. He would go into a funk over the next five games though, going 1-18 with 9 strikeouts. For as rough as that stretch was, he quickly turned it around and rolled out a seven game hitting streak. Over that stretch he went 13-29 with 5 doubles, 4 runs, 4 RBI and 3 walks with 2 steals to hit .448. He would go just 3-19 over the next five games before finishing the month out going 6-8 with 3 walks. April had some ups and downs, but there were more ups as the shortstop posted a line of .310/.381/.437 with 9 walks and 23 strikeouts.
May also started out slowly as Perez went 2-17 to start the month before running off a five game hitting streak where he would go 8-21 (.381) with 2 doubles, a triple and 3 runs scored. The next 12 games saw a big slump though as the shortstop went just 5-47 (.106) with just one walk. He finished out the month going 6-21 over the final five games to finish with a line of .198/.216/.340 with just 3 walks and 19 strikeouts in 112 plate appearances. His walk rate fell apart in May, though he was still making contact at a solid rate. Perez also stole 9 bases without being caught during the month.
In the first game of June he went 1-3 with a walk and 2 RBI and on the 3rd and 4th he would double in each game. On the 6th Perez had a strong game, going 2-3 with a double, walk, solo home run and 2runs. He followed that up with two 0-4 games before getting hot over the next 12 games where he would go 16-52 (.308) with a two doubles, a triple and 12 runs scored. His final three games of the month saw him go just 1-10 to finish with a .247/.313/.360 line with 9 walks and 22 strikeouts in 100 plate appearances. The walk rate was back up to a solid rate, but his strikeout rate was also up a bit from May.
Perez started off the month of July with a 2-4 game against Lancaster with a run and two steals, though he would go just 1-12 over the next three games. On the 5th against Lake Elsinore the shortstop went 2-4 with a triple and an RBI, but went into a slump with just one hit over the next four games. The four games that followed were strong, going 5-12 with a home run and 2 walks. A big slump came on quickly though, with just two hits in the next 27 at bats. He would finish the month with a .194/.229/.286 line with 5 walks and 20 strikeouts in 107 plate appearances. The walk rate was low once again. Perez added 8 steals in 11 tries during July.
Over the final five weeks of the season between August and September Perez caught a bit of fire as he went 17-38 (.447) to begin August with 4 doubles, a home run, 5 walks and 13 runs. That stretch was followed up by a big slump though, going just 2-31 (.065) over the next 10 games. He would catch fire again to end the season with a 10-22 (.455) stretch with a double and 2 triples to go along with 4 RBI. He finished with a .319/.374/.495 line over the last five weeks with 8 walks and 20 strikeouts in 101 plate appearances. The walk rate moved back up and for the first time all year he showed some solid power throughout the time frame.
Season Stats
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 517 | 471 | 63 | 118 | 27 | 5 | 8 | 45 | 31 | 11 | 34 | 104 | .251 | .299 | .380 |
Overall Thoughts
Perez battled to find consistency all season long. He would go on stretches where he was hitting everything, but he usually followed that up where it looked like he couldn’t buy a hit for a week or two at a time. His plate discipline took a step backwards in 2013 after being a strength in the 2012 season and while it wasn’t terrible by any means, it wasn’t good either and moving in the wrong direction. Stealing 31 bases is nothing to sneeze at and set a new career high. He also improved his success rate from 2012 with a 74% success rate.
For more player season review, you can see the entire list here.