Meisel’s Musings: Roberto Pérez’s renaissance, trade-deadline planning and Brad Hand’s perfection
Zack Meisel 2h ago 6
CLEVELAND — As Roberto Pérez stepped into the batter’s box on Saturday afternoon, Adam Plutko and Shane Bieber chatted in the dugout about the catcher.
Pérez has blossomed with the bat this season, boasting a career-best .830 OPS. The two pitchers have taken notice, with Plutko describing the basis of their conversation as: “Who is this guy, man? We don’t even recognize him.”
“I think he’s just a lot more confident now,” Bieber said to his rotation mate.
As the words rolled off Bieber’s mouth, Pérez’s bat struck again.
“As soon as he said ‘confident,’ ” Plutko said, “the ball went over the fence. It couldn’t have been better timing. It was just one of those weird things you put out into the ether. He’s quite a power.”
So is the key to success having Soothsayer Shane say something out loud? Or, perhaps, it’s just a matter of Pérez benefitting from regular playing time and soaring belief in his ability to smack baseballs a long way.
Pérez has already established a career high with 11 home runs, including one in each of his first four games of this homestand. In any other year, he’d be a leading All-Star candidate, but this year’s crop of American League catchers has produced some glitzy hitting statistics. The past few years, it’s been more of a Salvador Pérez & Close Your Eyes And Point To A Name approach. Now, Gary Sanchez, Mitch Garver, James McCann, Robinson Chirinos, Omar Narvaez, Christian Vazquez, Pedro Severino and Pérez could all make a case.
Pérez ranks eighth among AL catchers (minimum of 100 plate appearances) with a 116 wRC+. Ranking eighth might not sound like much of a feat, but for a guy who posted a wRC+ of 55, 73 and 40 the past three years to now be hitting 16 percent better than league-average, that’s saying something, especially given the dearth of reliable hitting in Terry Francona’s lineup.
“I’m trying to lay off that slider down and away,” Pérez said, “which early I was chasing that pitch a lot. Right now I am swinging with confidence, just taking it pitch by pitch. Don’t try to do too much, try to put the ball in play and make something happen.”
Pérez has already drawn more walks this season (22) than he did last year (21), support for Francisco Lindor’s claim that the catcher owns one of the best batting eyes in the league. Pérez has also clubbed the ball more to the opposite field. Six of his 11 home runs have landed beyond the center- or right-field fence.
Opposite-field percentage:
2017: 15.9 percent
2018: 23.7 percent
2019: 31.3 percent
“What comes first?” Francona said. “It’s easy to tell people to have confidence. I think it’s because he’s staying on the ball so much better.”
And it’s helped to have those long-awaited everyday at-bats.
“It’s nice to be able to play every day,” Pérez said, “and knowing if you go 0-for-4, you’re confident that you’re going to be back there the next day. I know it’s tough playing once a week or twice a week, but I’m not taking it for granted, man. This is the opportunity I was waiting for and now I’m just getting the most out of it.”
Wheeling and dealing
Trade winds will soon start to swirl, and this season, there might be more July activity than usual. There’s no more August waiver period, so contenders will need to shore up their rosters before July 31.
The Athletic caught up with Indians president Chris Antonetti to discuss how the rule change might influence negotiations and decisions this summer.
Antonetti: “We know there’s not going to be opportunity to make meaningful trades on either side in August. I think what you’ll see is contending teams will not only be focused on making big trades prior to the July deadline but also trades that can enhance their depth to help get them through things that may happen in August and September. One of the things that August was really valuable for, especially for contending teams, was when you had an injury or something happened, you could adjust or find someone who could fill a gap for you. Now you have to plan ahead for that in July. I’m not sure how much of an effect it’ll have on big, headline-grabbing trades, but on some of the smaller, roster-maneuvering deals, I think we’ll see a lot more of those in July.”
When Michael Brantley sustained an ankle injury in early August 2017, Antonetti called the Mets and swung a trade for slugger Jay Bruce the next evening. The Indians also acquired former AL MVP Josh Donaldson on the final day of August last year, a last-minute upgrade to the club’s lineup.
Those sorts of deals will no longer take place. And will teams now have to pick a side — buyer or seller — earlier than normal?
Antonetti: “ I think most teams still had to do that by July 31 because trading valuable players, guys who are attractive to a lot of teams, in August is a difficult thing to do. I still think most teams will decide their general direction before the end of July.”
The Indians are one of those teams lacking an obvious direction. They could swap some prospects for major-league help in an effort to hang around the wild-card chase or attempt to trim the Twins’ 10 1/2-game advantage in the division. They could sell some sensible pieces, such as Trevor Bauer. They could choose both options. Or neither.
Antonetti: “The natural way the calendar works is that after the draft passes, teams can refocus and spend more of their time on trades.”
Evaluating the Indians’ potential buy/sell scenarios
Is there a draft in here?
We covered the ins and outs of the Indians’ two picks from Day 1 of the draft last week. Here’s a bit more on the club’s Day 2 picks, spanning rounds 3-10, featuring insight from Scott Barnsby, the Indians’ amateur scouting director.
Round 3: Joe Naranjo, 1B (Ruben S. Ayala HS, Chino Hill, Calif.)
Nicknamed “Joey Barrels,” Naranjo batted .382 with 17 extra-base hits in 102 at-bats during his senior season.
Barnsby: “Really impressive bat-to-ball. Left-handed, really pretty swing, natural, loose, easy. Controls the strike zone, recognizes pitches. Rarely expands, can use the whole field. Watching him over the last year or so, he’s really started to develop some power, so we feel like it’s in there. Left-left guy, so he plays some corner outfield, some first base. He’s athletic enough to move around, but the calling card is the bat.”
Round 4: Christian Cairo, SS (Calvary Christian HS, Clearwater, Fla.)
The son of longtime big-leaguer Miguel Cairo, Christian hit .425 during his senior season.
Barnsby: “He’s got the arm strength to stay at shortstop. He’s versatile enough where he could play short or second base, but we see him as a shortstop. Another guy with really good bat-to-ball, controls the strike zone, uses the whole field. Not a big frame, but he’s strong, put together. He can run, good athlete.”
Round 5: Hunter Gaddis, RHP (Georgia State)
Gaddis led his conference with 112 strikeouts (in 91 innings), though he posted a 4.85 ERA.
Barnsby: “This guy has got a really good arm. He threw in the Cape last summer, had him up to 95 (mph). He pitched all spring with a plus fastball. He’s got an advanced feel for the changeup, throws a slider that misses bats. He had a little up-and-down year this year in terms of performance.”
Round 6: Jordan Brown, SS (Junipero Serra HS, San Mateo, Calif.)
Brown batted .419 during his high school career, including .464 as a senior.
Barnsby: “He’s really young, and he’s got a really good frame. We’re obviously hoping he develops physically and grows into some power because we like his swing and we think he’s going to hit, and we think he’s really going to have some power down the road. Defensively, he’s got the actions to stay at shortstop, but it’s a big frame. You never know where the body ends up, but we’re confident he stays on the dirt. Right now we’ll give him every chance to stay at shortstop, and we’ll see where that one ends up.”
Round 7: Xzavion Curry, RHP (Georgia Tech)
Curry posted a 4.08 ERA, with 66 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings for the Yellow Jackets this season. A high school quarterback, Curry arrived at Georgia Tech as a two-way player, but he focused on pitching in college.
Barnsby: “Throws a lot of strikes. This guy can really pitch. He can pitch with his fastball. He pitches up in the zone with his fastball, misses barrels, is deceptive. He’s got a good slider. He doesn’t use his changeup very often. We feel like once he starts to use that more and develops it, it’ll be a pretty effective pitch for him. He hit a little bit of a speed bump at the end of the year with his shoulder, which is why the innings were down a little bit. He’s missed the last few weeks. We’re confident he’s going to bounce back. They’ve been taking it slow with him at the end of the season. He just needs more time, and then he’ll be ready to go.”
Round 8: Will Brennan, OF (Kansas State)
Brennan was a two-way player for the Wildcats, but the Indians will use him strictly as an outfielder. He struck out in only 4.8 percent of his plate appearances in three college seasons and walked nearly three times as often.
Barnsby: “He can run. He can play all three outfield positions. The pitching — he’s got arm strength, so he can play left, center or right.”
Round 9: Will Bartlett, C/1B (IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.)
Bartlett batted .500 with 10 doubles and seven homers in 94 at-bats this season.
Barnsby: “This guy not only has really impressive bat-to-ball, he’s got big, raw power, and we’re pretty confident this guy is going to be able to get to his power. He can impact the ball when everything is on time. Rarely swings and misses. Big, strong physical kid. You see him up at first base. He’s athletic enough to move around. But right now, probably ends up at first. But the calling card with him is the bat.”
Round 10: Zach Hart, RHP (Franklin Pierce University)
Barnsby: “Big, physical kid. He threw well in the Cape last summer. He’s been pretty successful for four years at Franklin Pierce. A four-year starter, senior, and we agreed to terms with him and he’s ready to go.”
Quotes to note
“Baseball, it’s crazy. It’s a round baseball that comes in a square box. Don’t forget that.” — Francisco Lindor
“I was so happy we won because I told Olson that if that scoreboard wouldn’t have been there, I would’ve picked up that ball on the way home. That was one of the longest home runs, golly. My goodness.” — Francona, on Byron Buxton’s scoreboard-scraping homer off Tyler Olson on Wednesday
Final thoughts
1. Brad Hand certainly deserves a spot on his third consecutive All-Star team. His first-half numbers are quite jarring — and they’re the best of his career.
0.98 ERA
1.70 FIP
1 HR allowed in 27 2/3 innings
League-leading 19 saves in 19 chances
40:7 K:BB ratio
His name will pop up in trade rumors over the next seven weeks. After years of sitting through ninth-inning tightrope acts featuring Bob Wickman, Joe Borowski, Chris Perez and Cody Allen, Tribe fans must be enjoying the lack of stressful final frames.
2. When do the Indians begin their scouting process for the 2020 amateur draft? Well, in the past. The team has developed an underclass scouting crew, with analysts who have been monitoring the 2020 class. The rest of the amateur scouting department will now begin studying up on the work that has already been started. Barnsby and other members of his team will spend this week in Phoenix watching the Perfect Game National Showcase.
3. Some candor from Francona when The Athletic asked about José Ramírez on Sunday morning:
“Every time I think he’s going to turn a corner, he doesn’t. I have so much belief in him that he will, it’s just been hard for him. It’s been a prolonged period and I know it’s got to be wearing on him. But I feel so strongly that he will figure it out.”
Ramírez did collect a couple of singles and a stolen base on Sunday. His slash line sits at (Alert: Not Safe For Work) .203/.299/.301.
(Top photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)
