There was plenty of hype surrounding Eury Perez and his Miami Marlins’ debut on Friday night.
It was to be expected. Perez is the Marlins’ top prospect, one of the most promising pitchers in the minors. With an impressive arsenal featuring three plus pitches and excellent command, it was possible that he would establish himself quickly. The only question was
Eury Perez gives Miami Marlins reason to hope for future
Perez showed his immense potential during his debut. He allowed two runs on four hits over his 4.2 innings, striking out seven while issuing two walks. His fastball sat in the upper 90s, showing excellent movement and generating plenty of swings and misses. In fact, one of his walks was called on a 99 MPH fastball that painted the bottom half of the zone. That ability to use the lower half of the zone manifested in plenty of grounders as well.
He also displayed his fearlessness on the mound. Perez threw several breaking pitches on 3-2 counts, showing how much confidence he has in his stuff. That willingness to use any pitch at any time, and in any count, showed a maturity and trust in his ability far beyond his age.
There were some bumps in the road. Both of the runs Perez allowed came on solo homers when his fastball caught far too much of the zone. He also had 20 foul balls against, driving up his pitch count and cutting his outing short. Although he did record seven strikeouts, he will need to learn how to put major league hitters away. Nonetheless, his debut gave the Marlins plenty of reasons to imagine a bright future ahead.
Eury Perez was certainly impressive in his Miami Marlins debut on Friday. While there were some bumps, there is plenty to build on.
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