Kansas City Royals Next Hall of Fame Player

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Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Salvador Perez

If we were looking ahead with Zack Greinke and Alex Gordon, then we are certainly prognosticating far into the future with Salvador Perez. The Kansas City Royals backstop is only in his third full season in the majors after all, and at age 25, is still quite young.

Yet, despite his youth and inexperience, Perez has built an impressive resume already. He has made three All-Star Games while winning two Gold Glove awards, establishing himself as the premier defensive catcher in the American League, if not all of baseball. His .280/.307/.434 batting line is respectable, as are his 59 home runs and 92 doubles in 489 career games.

Obviously, Perez has a lot of baseball left in his career, making such talk seemingly premature. However, given his stellar defensive play and power, one cannot help but wonder if Perez could be heading down such a path. If Perez is able to learn more plate discipline as his career continues forward, and begins to lay off of those sliders low and away, he could truly become even more of a force with the bat.

The Kansas City Royals may have the best catcher in the American League with Salvador Perez. If he can continue to develop, they may even have a Hall of Fame caliber player.

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