St. Louis Cardinals: What Shortstops Does Delvin Pérez Compare To?

The St. Louis Cardinals have a promising young talent in shortstop Delvin Perez, but one of the biggest questions surrounding him is how high his ceiling can go.

At 17 years old Delvin Perez was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals 23rd overall in the 2016 draft. He was projected as a top five pick until he tested positive for PEDs which caused him to slide down in the draft.

The young shortstop made an impact in his first season and is now listed as the number 91 prospect in baseball in MLB Pipelines top 100 prospects. He is coming of a season where he hit .292 through 43 games in his first season following the draft.

As far as what to expect from Perez as he develops in the minors, he drew pre-draft comparisons to Carlos Correa, which is not a terrible name to be tied to. Correa was the first Puerto-Rican player to be drafted first overall and brought home Rookie of the Year honors in 2015. Obviously, Perez still has to grow into the type of player he will become, but his first year was not that far off of Correa’s first professional season.

It is not a difficult line to draw between the two shortstops because of their build. They both have a tall and lanky frame but Perez is shorter by just an inch, standing at 6’3″. If he can fill out the frame, then the comparisons will continue to grow. Correa was not always the 20 home runs a year player he is today. When he was at the level Perez played at last season, he hit only three. So while Perez doesn’t hit for much power now, he may develop it as Correa has.

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Perez projects to be a plus defender with plus speed. He still needs to develop the glove a little more, however, after committing 17 errors in 43 games. That being said he was only 17-years old and as he gets older and gains the experience, the game will slow down on that side of the ball, making it easier to feel comfortable on defense.

That being said, Correa is not a good a fielder as what is projected for the Cardinals prospect, but performed better in his debut season. Correa recorded 12 errors through 50 games. This is not to say Perez won’t eventually surpass Correa as a fielder, but it may take longer to develop in the minors. The general consensus on Perez prior to the 2016 draft was that his defense was his best asset and being 17 was also one of the more enticing reasons to draft him.

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His projected speed, defense, and arm alone would cause excitement among the organization. But being so young and entering the pros for the first time, hitting .294 with 8 doubles and 4 triples, shows the ability to make contact to the gaps. There are 4 solid tools right there, with the possibility of developing better power. Not 40 homers a year power, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him follow in Correa’s footsteps to hit 20 a year.

Derrick Goold says the closest comparison to Perez is Orioles shortstop, JJ Hardy. This is due to the defense heavy talent out of the draft that accompanies size and athleticism. Hardy has been great defensively his whole career, never having a UZR lower than 4.1 and has three Gold Gloves to show for it.

As far as hitting, Goold’s comparison makes sense, but Perez would seem to be able to surpass the numbers of Hardy. JJ has generally been a consistent .260 hitter, and depending on the year he will hit either less than 10 or more than 20 home runs. By most indications, Perez will develop into a more consistent bat, with a higher average than Hardy’s norm.

The only part of the comparison to Hardy that really doesn’t hold up is the speed. Hardy has eight steals in his career. Perez collected 12 steals through his first 43 games a professional player. Regardless, a faster and more consistent Hardy is a pretty exciting comparison as well.

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The positive PED test for Perez could end up being a gift for the Cardinals. They could have a cornerstone on their infield for years to come. His rise to the Majors will depend entirely on how quickly he develops and his defensive numbers more than anything else will need to improve for him to move up. Regardless of who may compare to Perez best, one thing is for sure: this kid has talent and he is an exciting prospect to keep your eyes on in the Cardinals organization.