1) Salvador Perez Bombs Away
What can we say? Salvador Perez hit a key bomb for the second straight night that changed the game. On Tuesday, his two-run shot erased a 2-1 deficit in the 8th inning to set up the KC Royals fourth win in a row. On Wednesday, his three-run shot turned a narrow 3-2 lead into a 6-2 bulge.
This time, the drive went to straight-away center field.
Perez is now on pace for 27 home runs this season, which would break his career high of 21 set just last year. The 26-year-old Perez is slashing a terrific .293/.321/.534 after his 1 for 4 performance Wednesday night.
Perez is clearly looking to drive the ball early in the count, and isn’t putting pitches that he can only make weak contact with in play before the pitcher has two strikes on him. As a result, Salvy is getting the chance to hit a lot more mistake pitches out of the yard.
Perez’s newfound power at the plate might make him the best catcher in baseball, with all due respect to Buster Posey, the resurgent Jonathan Lucroy, and Wilson Ramos in Washington.
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With a World Series MVP, three straight gold gloves, and three consecutive All-Star nods, Salvador Perez is one of the best players in the game. He certainly belongs in the AL MVP conversation for 2016.