Blue Wahoos Baseball: Teenage rising star set to make Blue Wahoos history on opening night

The first batch of rain was about an hour away when one of baseball’s latest phenoms took the mound at Blue Wahoos Stadium for a brief test drive.

It took only a couple pitches and unmistakable, shotgun-like pop into a catcher’s mitt, for Eury Perez to showcase why there is such a buzz.

“Eury is the total package,” said Blue Wahoos new pitching coach Dave Eilland, who stood a few feet away as the towering Perez went through his practice session earlier this week.

Eiland has mentored some of the best Major League Baseball pitchers of this era, including the New York Mets Jacob deGrom and the Los Angeles Angels Noah Syndergaard, while Eiland was the Mets’ pitching coach.

His new prodigy is two inches taller than Syndergaard, standing at 6-foot-8.

And, oh yeah, Perez is only 18-years-old.

After a stellar training camp, including facing big-league hitters, the righthander was announced as the Blue Wahoos opening night starter on Friday (6:35 p.m.) when they face the Biloxi Shuckers to begin their 10th anniversary season at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

“I think everybody likes his body of work at such a young age,” Randel said, during a media interview session with local and South Florida media members. “Obviously, the potential you see as a number one ace in the big leagues… obviously he is a ways from that, but he’s got big-league stuff.”

This weekend begins Pensacola’s second year as the Miami Marlins’ Double-A affiliate in the Southern League.

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A year ago, area baseball fans got to see Max Meyer, the Marlins’ No. 1 pick in 2020 dazzle his way on the mound. He’s now with Triple-A Jacksonville, on his way to a sooner-than-later MLB debut. Meyer was 22 when he made his debut with he Blue Wahoos.

Perez is the Miami Marlins’ No. 1-ranked prospect by Baseball America, No. 4 by MLB.com. The righthander, who grew up in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, leads the marquee among the team assembled for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos opening night on Friday.

He will be the youngest player in Blue Wahoos history. He will be the first teenager in Miami Marlins history to play in Double-A since Giancarlo Stanton and Matt Dominguez played in 2009 for the Jacksonville Suns, the Marlins’ former Double-A affiliate.

Neither, of course, were pitchers.

In what’s been a fluid roster situation, due to trades and movements this week, the Blue Wahoos currently have 28 players, including 14 pitchers and three catchers. The average age is 24. Besides Perez, no other player is under 22.

“It means a lot to me that (Marlins) have put the trust in me to play at this level. I’m very grateful they see that special element in me,” said Perez, speaking through bilingual translator Nino Mendez, the Blue Wahoos team photographer and Pensacola Christian College instructor.

“I have never heard of Pensacola before, but I know I will come to enjoy it,” said Perez, who turns 19 on April 15. “The field is beautiful and Pensacola is a very beautiful city.”

Perez smiled often and greeted strangers during his first introduction to the Blue Wahoos on Tuesday. He was at ease, which is why the Marlins believed he would handle this new opportunity.

The Marlins signed Perez in 2019 from the Dominican Republic and presented him a $200,000 signing bonus, which may turn out to be the best bargain around.

Since then, he’s grown four inches. He added 45 pounds to reach 200 pounds. And his pitching array just got better and better.

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“He’s a guy that runs it up there in the upper 90’s,” Eiland said. “He’s got a curve ball, a change up -- and a slider that we just introduced to him probably about a month ago in spring training.

“He can go anywhere from 98 to 99 miles per hour (with fastballs), all the way down to 82 with his curve ball. I think what we have to do is get his command going, sharpen both of those breaking balls up a little bit and then let him go.

“What he needs are reps (repetitions). What he needs is to post 20 or 21 starts. If he gets good counts, he’s going to put hitters away.”

A year ago, Perez excelled with the Marlins’ two-level Class A teams in Jupiter (Florida State League) and with the Beloit Sky Carp, the High-A affiliate.

He allowed just 76 baserunners in 78 innings with his 20 starts. Despite being on a strict pitch count, as will be the case this year, his 108 strikeouts were fifth-best among all of the Marlins’ minor-league pitchers. It led to him being named the Marlins’ top Minor League pitcher and honored before the Marlins’ final 2021 MLB game at LoanDepot Park.

“Every level I have played, it’s still the same game,” Perez said. “All you’ve got to do is keep steady with what you know. And strive to become better. But every level, it’s the same game.”

That kind of approach was reinforced during a spring training

That kind of approach was reinforced during a spring training game as the Marlins’ Triple-A players. Perez faced J.J. Bleday, the Marlins No. 1 pick in 2019, who played for the Blue Wahoos all of last season, then became the MVP of the Arizona Fall League.

He struck out Bleday the first time, then yielded a broken-bat single in the next matchup.

"Eury has a lot of potential in this game already because his stuff is electric," Bleday told MLB.com following that game. "It's fast and heavy because of sink and late movement."

It leads to the intrigue on how Perez will fare in his Double-A debut Friday night. Randel knows from his lengthy experience that it’s quite possible a learning curve will need to occur.

“He may struggle in Double-A, you don’t know.” Randel said. “But down the road, this guy is going to figure it out and he’s going to be pretty good.

“There is going to be a lot of attention. He is going to be pumped up. We need to just keeps his nerves down.”

Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com.

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Blue Wahoos Opening Homestand

WHO: Biloxi Shuckers vs. Pensacola Blue Wahoos

WHEN: Friday at 6:35 p.m., Saturday at 6:05 p.m., Sunday at 4:05 p.m.

WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.

TICKETS: Available online at www.milb.com/pensacola/tickets. Or by visiting main stadium box office.

RADIO: ESPN Pensacola (99.1 FM and 1330 AM).

PROMOTIONS: Opening weekend sponsored by Hill-Kelly. Friday: 10th Anniversary Commemorative Hat (sponsored by Landrum HR) to first 1,000 fans. Saturday: Post-Game Fireworks Display (sponsored by Marcus Pointe Baptist Church). Sunday: Magnet Schedule giveaway (sponsored by Hill-Kelly, WEAR-3 and Cox Communications).

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Blue Wahoos opening day to feature 18-year-old pitcher