It is widely believed that the fifth spot in the rotation is Perez’s spot to lose. I tend to agree with that assessment. Perez ended the season as the fifth starter, and he did an admirable job. He is young and has a very high ceiling, and I think the Rangers like what they have seen in him so far, but they want a true competition for the fifth starters job so they are not going to tell anyone that they have it.
In the minors over his career he has really impressed, striking a batter per inning out on average and with the Rangers last season (including both starting and relieving) he averaged 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Scouts like him because he has a fastball, changeup and curveball and can even work in a slider every once in a while. He has a huge upside but he needs to show that he is ready for this level of play. He doesn’t have to blow away his competition in Spring Training in my opinion to become the opening day starter, but he does have to win the spot
My feeling is that he will be the guy coming out of camp, but I have been wrong before (shocking, I know). He has a ton of upside and he is young, which means the Rangers have a good bit of time to work with him and see if he can be a great starting pitcher in the future. He controls his own destiny, and I will be interested to see if he can take the spot or not. If he does, that will be a good thing for the Rangers.
