Martín Pérez: The Ignored Ace
Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty Images
During the 2021-2022 offseason, the Texas Rangers attempted to reshape themselves. The team entered the offseason on the heels of their first 100-loss regular season in 48 years and their fifth straight year without making the playoffs.
To remedy this, the Rangers dished out a combined half a billion dollars to All-Stars Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. They shored up their starting rotation with Jon Gray and Garrett Richards while they deepened their outfield depth with Kole Kalhoun and Brad Miller.
In one offseason, the Rangers rebranded themselves. They were no longer a bottom-feeder. They were a team determined to take their first step out of the cellar and into contention.
But of the $580.7 million Texas spent during the offseason, $4 million was spent on baseball’s biggest bargain, and perhaps the best pitcher in baseball right now: Martín Pérez.
Wait, what?
Coming into 2022, Martín Pérez had a 4.71 ERA for his career in 221 games pitched. In 2019, he had to compete for the fifth spot in the Minnesota Twins rotation, and despite getting the nod, his 1.52 WHIP was the highest in baseball that year.
In 2020, he bounced to Boston, led the American League in walks per nine, and was bought out of his contract before returning for another subpar season. Given all of this, how can he possibly be the best pitcher in baseball?
While Pérez’s career numbers conjure images of a middling arm, his 2022 numbers conjure images of Cy Young potential. Through 10 starts, Pérez’s 1.42 ERA and 273 ERA+ are the best in MLB, while his eight quality starts are the most in the American League.
In those 10 starts, opposing hitters are hitting .200/.253/.253 against him. Whatever hits they’ve managed, however, have not left the park. Literally. So far this season, Pérez has yet to allow a home run. He is the only qualified pitcher so far this season to accomplish that and the 18th to do so since MLB’s expansion era began in 1961.
Pérez’s 2.9 WAR per Baseball-Reference doesn’t just lead all pitchers, it’s already a career-best, In other words, Pérez has accomplished more in 10 starts this season than he has at any other point in his 11-year career.
His 0.64 May ERA is the lowest ERA in a single month by an AL pitcher (minimum 40 innings pitched) since 2004.
That 0.64 ERA factors in starts against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Boston Red Sox, and the Houston Astros. All of which were in the top 15 of team OPS, RBI, slugging percentage, and home runs earlier this week. Despite that, Pérez pitched seven scoreless innings against the Phillies, allowed just one run against the Red Sox, and threw a complete-game shutout against the Astros.
To reiterate. Against those three teams, Pérez gave up one run. Not in each start, but in total.
This begs the question the Rangers as well as other teams are asking themselves: How has Pérez remade himself?
Where others pitchers depend on velocity or movement to strike out batters, Pérez relies on neither. His fastball's velocity and spin, whiff rate, and strikeout rate are all considered poor, while his average exit velocity, curve rate, and chase rate are all average, according to Baseball Savant.
In an age of flamethrowers, Pérez has relied on his sinker to achieve his renaissance. During the 2020 season, the Venezuelan threw the pitch 17.7% of the time and 25.3% of the time in 2022. This season, however, Pérez is throwing his sinker a radical 37.8% of the time.
This focus on his sinker and off-speed pitches supersede that of Pérez’s fastball, which he has only used 7.1% of the time. In total, Pérez uses his sinker, changeup, and curveball a combined 70.1 % of the time.
As a result, 55.4% of all balls put into play against Pérez are groundballs and only 2.3% are hit as hard or harder than 98 MPH. For context, these two metrics are third and second-best among all qualified starters respectively.
This isn’t just Perez’s best season of his career. It could be the single greatest season by a Texans Ranger pitcher ever. He currently has the best single-season ERA, ERA+, WHIP, and FIP in the franchise’s 62-year existence.
Look out Nolan Ryan, Charlie Hough, Fergie Jenkins, and Kenny Rogers. Martín Pérez may soon stake himself in Rangers history right alongside you.
