It is extremely rare when a catcher can accumulate
more than 525 at-bats in a season given all the rest days off and the injuries
that crop up with donning the tools of ignorance. That is what makes the incredible durability
of Kansas City Royals backstop Salvador Perez so impressive. Perez stretched to four seasons in a row in 2016
when he piled up more than 525 plate appearances and that includes two years
where he went over 550 which is unheard of in today’s game. Being able to have that many opportunities to
swing the bat obviously helps Perez’ counting numbers and last season those
came out to 22 home runs, 64 RBI, and 57 runs.
The RBI total was actually a bit disappointing as Perez had reached the
70-plus mark the three seasons prior but there is no denying the extreme
dependability you get here. What is
interesting to note with Perez as well is how his hitting profile has changed
since breaking into the majors in 2011.
From that debut season all the way through 2013, Perez hit .290 or above
but with little power. Those trends have
reversed themselves since then as Perez has hit just .260, .260, and .247 the
last three years but with a total of 60 home runs in that span. Again you are buying into the dependability
here despite the disappointment his average couldn’t keep up with the recent
power uptick.
2017
PROJECTION: .261 20 HR 72 RBI 57 R 1
SB
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