Fast Track: Salvador Perez to Join Kansas City

Apparently two weeks in Triple A was enough for Salvador Perez to assume his place as Kansas City’s catcher of the future.

On July 27, Perez was promoted from Northwest Arkansas to Omaha. Now, after 49 plate appearances, he’s stepping in after a series of events leave the Royals thin at catcher. He should make his big league debut tomorrow in Tampa.

Matt Treanor was concussed* and placed on the 7-day DL after a collision with Matt LaPorta. Manny Pina was called up to fill his place.

This time, Brayan Pena‘s wife in Miami is having labor induced and he’ll be there to join her.**

*I like that word too. **The Royals are using two new MLB roster exemptions – the 7-day DL and paternity leave list – on both of their opening day catchers.

Perez, 21, was signed out of Venezuela at 16 years old and has steadily worked his way up the ladder. In Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, he has a combined .769 OPS with 10 homers and 53 RBI. He’s thrown out 46% of attempted base-stealers across both levels this year and has a career minor league rate of 42%.

Year	Age	Tm	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	17	Royals	99	10	21	3	0	0	10	5	10	.244	.320	.279	.599
2008	18	2 Teams	95	11	30	3	2	1	16	7	10	.361	.409	.482	.891
2008	18	Idaho Falls	46	7	17	3	1	1	6	2	5	.395	.413	.581	.994
2008	18	Burlington	49	4	13	0	1	0	10	5	5	.325	.404	.375	.779
2009	19	2 Teams	396	45	96	20	3	2	45	25	40	.267	.313	.356	.669
2009	19	Idaho Falls	259	35	72	14	3	2	38	19	25	.309	.357	.421	.777
2009	19	Burlington	137	10	24	6	0	0	7	6	15	.189	.230	.236	.466
2010	20	Wilmington	396	35	106	21	1	7	53	18	38	.290	.322	.411	.732
2011	21	2 Teams	358	40	97	19	0	10	53	16	36	.290	.331	.437	.769
2011	21	NW Ark	309	35	81	14	0	9	43	16	30	.283	.329	.427	.756
2011	21	Omaha	49	5	16	5	0	1	10	0	6	.333	.347	.500	.847
5 Seasons	1344	141	350	66	6	20	177	71	134	.285	.328	.397	.725
Rk (3 seasons)	453	56	123	20	5	3	64	31	45	.306	.359	.403	.762
A (1 season)	137	10	24	6	0	0	7	6	15	.189	.230	.236	.466
AA (1 season)	309	35	81	14	0	9	43	16	30	.283	.329	.427	.756
AAA (1 season)	49	5	16	5	0	1	10	0	6	.333	.347	.500	.847
A+ (1 season)	396	35	106	21	1	7	53	18	38	.290	.322	.411	.732

If he even approaches either of those marks the rest of this year, he’ll be well on his way. Perez was our #20 prospect going into 2011.

What it means for the Royals when Treanor is recovered and Pena is done attending to his wife, I don’t know. It’s speculated that Manny Pina will be optioned to Omaha and Treanor will be activated from the DL. Pena has been told to “take as long as it takes”. If Perez is coming up, one would think it’s to get a long look at him, but perhaps he’ll return to Omaha and Pina will shuffle back to Double A.

We’ll see.

To make room for Perez on the 40-man roster, Jesse Chavez was designated for assignment.

Stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.

Home/KC Royals News