RADIO
Salvador Perez 2021 Outlook: Good For A Catcher But Bad at His ADP
4 years agoSalvador Perez put up huge numbers in his return to KC, slashing .333/.353/.633 with 11 HR in just 156 PAs. One major reason why was his .375 BABIP, nearly 100 points higher than his career mark of .287. The reason for the jump was an LD% spike (20.4% in 2018, 27% last year) that probably won't prove sustainable, so fantasy managers should expect significant regression in 2021. He also has terrible plate discipline (1.9 BB%, 23.1 K% with a 47.2% chase rate in 2020) that makes him a significant batting average risk. Furthermore, Perez benefited from a HR/FB surge last season (25.6% vs. 14.8% in '18) despite seeing his average airborne exit velocity hold steady (94 mph last year, 94.3 in 2018). His rate of Brls/BBE improved from 10.8% to 13.9% in that time frame, but that looks like small sample size noise considering that Perez's FB% also declined (45% to 37.4%). The 30-year-old Perez still projects as one of the best catchers available on draft day, but he's unlikely to provide the raw statistics you'd expect from an ADP of 81.48. You're better off taking a better player instead and figuring your catching situation out later.
