January 11, 2007

Player Profile

Jhonny Peralta

by Marc Normandin

Jhonny Peralta was somewhat of a surprise story in each of his first full major league seasons: in 2005, he shocked many by putting together one of the better all-around seasons by a shortstop in the majors at age 23, while in 2006 he followed up with a disappointing below-average performance. The question heading into 2007 is simple: which Jhonny Peralta can we expect to show up?

Jhonny Antonio Peralta was signed as an non-drafted amateur free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 1999 at age 17. He played for the Dominican Summer League Indians in his professional debut, and hit .303/.398/.514 with 41 percent of his hits for extra bases. His BABIP was .373, which was above where it should be for the league difficulty level. For his efforts, Peralta was placed in Single-A Columbus in the Sally League, where he struggled. He was promoted to High-A Kinston in the Carolina league for the next season, and continued to have problems:

           AB   AVG/OBP/SLG  SecA  XBH%  ISO  2B+3B  BB%   K%
Col.(A)   349 .241/.352/.309 .241  20%  .068   14   14.3%  24.7%
Kin.(A+)  441 .240/.328/.351 .234  31%  .111   26   11.5%  29.3%

Peralta maintained an ability to draw walks at both levels, but struggled to hit for a decent batting average or any sort of power, although at Kinston he showed a little more promise offensively. The high strikeout rates were worrisome, although Peralta was still only 19 years old and did manage to hit .303 (30/99) over the last 27 games of the season. Even with his struggles and youth, the Indians aggressively promoted Peralta to Double-A Akron of the Eastern League for 2002.

Baseball America ranked Peralta the 19th best prospect in the organization heading into 2002, and gives us a good idea of where his defense was at: "Those soft hands, and Peralta's over-the-top throwing motion, have led to defensive comparisons to former Gold Glover Alan Trammell. Peralta has a strong, accurate arm, and plenty of range." He still had his problems with the bat, but those would be less of a problem in the upcoming season:

           AB   AVG/OBP/SLG  SecA  XBH%  ISO  2B+3B  BB%   K%
Akr.(AA)  470 .281/.343/.457 .277  36%  .176   33    8.4%  18.0%

Peralta's strikeout rate dropped considerably, as did his walk rate, but he finally gained some home run power, smacking 15 without losing any of his doubles power. His BABIP was just .327, so this was a legitimate offensive output by the 20 year old shortstop. Baseball America moved Peralta up two spots in their organizational rankings to #17, with some major changes in the comments on his defense:

…the Indians sent Peralta to the Arizona Fall League to play third base. His ultimate position is yet to be determined, though his thick build probably will mean he'll have to move off shortstop…He's steady defensively, with excellent hands and plenty of arm for shortstop or third base. His range is fringe average at best and he's a below-average runner who lacks quick reactions to the ball.

Even with the offensive output, his defense seemed to take a step back, and there were worries about his physique working out at shortstop in the long run. Cleveland promoted him to Triple-A Buffalo following the season, and he would see time with the major league after Omar Vizquel got injured:

           AB   AVG/OBP/SLG  SecA  XBH%  ISO  2B+3B  BB%   K%
Buf.(AAA) 237 .257/.310/.329 .127  23%  .072   13    5.8%  17.4%
Cle.(MLB) 242 .227/.295/.326 .174  27%  .111   11    7.4%  24.1%

Peralta struggled mightily at both levels, not displaying the improvement from the previous season at Akron. His walk rates dropped down to levels where they were a bit more dependent on his batting average, and his power still was not developed. His BABIP was low given his line drive rate at the major league level, but his line drive rate is high in comparison to the ones that followed in his big league games, rendering that tidbit pointless.

Baseball Prospectus 2004 still had faith in Peralta's long-term potential, despite his debut struggles:

The rest of this article is restricted to Baseball Prospectus Subscribers. Not a subscriber? Click here for more information on Baseball Prospectus subscriptions or use the buttons to the right to subscribe and get access to the best baseball content on the web.

Cancel anytime. That's a 33% savings over the monthly price! That's a 33% savings over the monthly price! Already a subscriber? Click here and use the blue login bar to log in.