SoxSpectsPortal Prospect Watch: RHP Luis Perales
Installment number two of the prospect watch
Hard throwing right-hander Luis Perales just missed out on my Top 10 prospect ranking, but he is my 11th best prospect in the organization. At just 19 he has quickly made a name for himself after signing with the Red Sox in 2019 for $75,000 out of Venezuela.
You can read the prospect rankings below.
Last season he appeared in 13 games split between FCL and Low-A Salem. Combined between the two leagues he posted an 0-2 record with an 1.77 ERA over 35.2 innings pitched with 50 strikeouts and 20 walks.
Perales has filthy pitches.
He works his fastball into the mid-to-upper 90s, sometimes reaching 97-98 on the radar gun. He has a dipping slider in the 80s that looks like it is in the zone and then can fall off the table and his changeup sits around the mid-80s. His go-to and best pitch is the fastball.
His slider can get loose and not be as effective but if used properly in a pitchers count can get the job done either with a strikeout or a hit into an out. His changeup seems to find the zone a little more frequently than his slider does, which also helps him get out of jams when needed.
Perales wants to be an every fifth day starter, and he will earn that right in Salem. However, if he struggles to keep it together it would not be a shock to see him come into a game out of relief.
Perales will more than likely work the entire 2023 campaign with the Low-A Salem Red Sox club and will likely earn a promotion to High-A Greenville next season.
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