The last few years the team has flipped between players at the corners and starting pitchers as that seems to have been the best value at that point in the draft. The middle fielders and top end pitchers are gone but the solid future BBA players at the corner outfield spots and middle of the rotation are still available. Names like SP Leland Rogers, RF Chester Lawrence, 1B Gary Grant, SP Jorge Casillas, and SP Cesar Franco have been selected in the past few years. Solid but not spectacular selections that hopefully will build the solid core of the ballclub.
This year’s selection was along the same lines. Another starting pitcher who was not the best pitcher of the class but likely one of the middle rotation pitchers that the club will need in a few years.
Jesus Perez
Perez is a mostly developed college starting pitcher with 5/6/7 potential. He has 4 good to great pitches with a top end slider being the best. The fact that he doesn’t have a fastball seems to be a concern but having 4 top end pitches should offset that. He is high velocity (95/97) and throws a lot of ground balls (63%, 2nd highest among pitchers in this years class) so he should fare well in the TAP Room. He has had a few minor injuries in college so there is some concern long term about his durability but he has high work ethic so hopefully the intangibles behind the scenes work in his favor.
Overall Perez is a low risk selection that should see the middle rotation in San Antonio sooner rather than later.
