KANNAPOLIS, N.C -- On the same night that Michael Kopech hit 103 mph while recording his first save in a Dodgers uniform, Jeral Perez launched his first home run as a member of the White Sox organization, and provided his offensive raison d'être in the process.
The one-line summary of Perez's offense -- and you're happy to get one line when you're texting scouts the day before the trade deadline -- is that he has a natural feel for pulling and elevating the baseball. It's not remarkable raw power, but the path toward accessing it is well-trod ground. Yet the first sight of the 19-year-old native of La Romana in the box is that he's absolutely crowding the plate. It's the product of an adjustment Perez made with his coach in the Dominican Republic over the offseason.
"For me, closer to the home plate has helped me a lot this year," Perez said, gamely working in his second language. "Last year I had trouble hitting to the other side of the field. When I stand up closer, I feel like I can cover the whole plate."
Seemingly generously listed as standing 6-foot even, Perez is much like his idol Ketel Marte in that he doesn't cast the image of a traditional power hitter. Only the lithe, cornerback-like build of Kannapolis teammate Ryan Burrowes stands between Perez and his preferred position of shortstop. But a more traditional power hitter might depend on getting their arms extended to reach the seats, and would be vulnerable to velocity in on their hands if they crowded the plate like Perez.
Perez on the other hand, would just love for someone to take him up on his invitation for pitchers to bust him inside.
"That's my power swing."
In truth, the 2-2 fifth inning fastball Perez turned on (after taking two chase pitches above the zone) wound up leaking out to the middle, but his tight coil was visible all the same, launching his 11th home run of the season over the berm on a dead pull angle to left.
Leading off the eighth, he was only a hair too quick turning-and-burning on another inner half fastball to hook it foul at homer-length distance, at which point the Charleston RiverDogs battery decided Perez had seen enough middle-in velocity for the night, and he walked on a failed effort to induce a low-and-away chase on a slider. He swung under a pair of balls for popouts earlier in the evening, and a backwards K on him in his final trip to plate capitalized on his demonstrated wariness to expand his zone upward, dotting him with a fastball away at the letters in the 10th.
But even on just a 1-for-4 with a walk type of night, Perez's approach seemed coherent throughout.
"He just goes about his business like a professional," said teammate George Wolkow. "He's not been here for long but every day he comes to the field and he's very professional in his cage work, in the gym, work on the field. Just a very consistent and professional-type guy."
After Friday, Perez is scraping together a .240/.309/.420 line in the Sox organization, but is hitting .260/.370/.420 overall in Low-A without turning 20 until November. He readily admitted that getting traded in the middle of his first full season at an affiliate in America was a challenge, and that showed in slow early results.
But he's acclimating, in no small part because his double play partner is also his flawlessly bilingual interpreter. Fluent in English from an early age in Panama at the behest of his father, Burrowes serves as a point of a connection in the Cannon Ballers clubhouse, and is also a game assistant to media coverage.
"It's all right," Burrowes said of the extra workload. "It is what it is. It's my teammates. I've got to help them."
Toledo 5, Charlotte 1
- Zach DeLoach was 0-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Tim Elko, 2-for-5 with a triple and two strikeouts.
- Oscar Colás went 1-for-5 with a K.
- Bryan Ramos was 1-for-3 with an HBP and a strikeout.
- Colson Montgomery singled twice, walked and struck out.
Tennessee 2, Birmingham 0
- Wilfred Veras went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Jacob Gonzalez and Terrell Tatum both were 0-for-3.
- Riley Gowens: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 54 of 85 pitches for strikes.
Jersey Shore 3, Winston-Salem 1
- Rikuu Nishida went 1-for-2 with two walks, but was caught stealing.
- William Bergolla was 1-for-4, and also caught stealing.
- Wes Kath wore the collar and silver sombrero.
- Ryan Galanie was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.
- Caden Connor, 1-for-4.
- Calvin Harris was 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Casey Sauckie went 2-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Eddie Park, 0-for-4.
Charleston 5, Kannapolis 3
- Ryan Burrowes went 1-for-5 with a stolen base.
- Jeral Perez hit his first homer with the Sox, finishing 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- T.J. McCants went 2-for-5 with a triple and a strikeout.
- George Wolkow was 1-for-5 with a double and three strikeouts.
- Ronny Hernandez, 1-for-4 with a K.
- Lyle Miller-Green doubled, walked twice and struck out.
- Nathan Archer was 0-for-4.
DSL White Sox 16, DSL Giants Black 12
- Jehancarlos Mendez went 1-for-5 with a walk and a strikeout
- Jesus Premoli was 2-for-4 with a walk and an HBP.
- Jurdrick Profar went 5-for-6 with two doubles and a stolen base.
- Yhoiker Fajardo: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
- Alexandre Valdeviezo: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BBB, 1 K, 1 WP
