Geraldo Perdomo. | Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images Geraldo Perdomo’s performance was surprisingly impressive. Overview Rating: 7.57 2022 stats: 148 G, 5 HRs in 500 PAs, .195/.285/.262 (58 OPS+), +0.7 bWAR 2023 stats: 144 G, 6...
Geraldo Perdomo. | Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Geraldo Perdomo’s performance was surprisingly impressive.
Overview
Rating: 7.57
2022 stats: 148 G, 5 HRs in 500 PAs, .195/.285/.262 (58 OPS+), +0.7 bWAR
2023 stats: 144 G, 6 HRs in 495 PAs, .246/ .353/ .359 (96 OPS+), +2.3 bWAR
2023 postseason: 17 G, 2 HRs in 63 PAs, .275/.362/.392.
Date of birth: October 22, 1999 (24 years old)
2023 earnings: League minimum (pre-arb).
2023 status: On 40-man roster. Possible shortstop on active roster.
Vote breakdown:
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AZ Snake Pit.
Introduction
This season, fan opinions of Geraldo Perdomo soared! His rating increased from 4.63 to 7.57. His ranking increased from 24th to 11th.
Last season’s player review predicted, “Geraldo Perdomo’s performance will be surprisingly impressive.” Two specific predictions follow.
“His OPS+ will improve to average because of the deep batting strengths (swinging strikes, contact percentage, walk to strikeout ratio, and wOBA with RISP) that he demonstrated last season.” — Makakilo, December 2022
Prediction was on-target. In 2023, his OPS+ improved from 58 to 96 (near average). And his postseason batting was a step above the regular season.
“His defense will be awesome because that’s his wheelhouse, because he proved his defensive prowess after the All-Star break, and because without shifts his position on the field will be shortstop, where he had his best OAA” – Makakilo, December 2022
Prediction was mostly on-target. His Outs-Above-Average (OAA) increased from zero in 2022 to four OAA in 2023. His ranking among qualified shortstops increased from 21st to 14th. However another measure of defense (DRS) fell from 4 in the second-half-of 2022 to negative 3 in 2023. Interestingly, in August/September he showed great defense at third base (his DRS at third base was positive 2 DRS).
2023 Review
His deep batting strengths improved.
His deep batting strengths improved from 2022 to 2023. The following table shows that improvement and compares him to other Diamondbacks’ batters.
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Data from Baseball Reference and Baseball Savant.
His batting against left-handed pitchers remained weak.
The following table shows that although his batting improved against right-handed pitchers, his batting against left-handed pitchers remained the same (weak). Nevertheless, in the playoffs, his batting improved significantly against left-handed pitchers.
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Data from Baseball Reference and MLB.com.
His bunting added win probability.
There are different viewpoints on Perdomo’s bunts. Before looking at my view, a different opinion is oversimplified with the following quote:
“Overall, Perdomo lost WPA by bunting, but not a ton; he made up for his inefficiency at reaching base by picking good spots in general. With good hitters batting after him, it’s likely that WPA slightly understated his contribution, even.” — Ben Clemens, November 2023
My view is that in the regular season, Perdomo total WPA was positive when he bunted (a table follows). Also, bunting was his best approach to those plate appearances because instead of a power hitter, Perdomo is the best contact hitter on the Diamondbacks (one of his deep batting strengths).
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Data from Baseball Reference.
The table shows that five of Perdomo’s bunts were singles with a total positive WPA of 33%. The other 16 bunts had a total WPA of negative 15%. Therefore, the table show that when he bunted his season total WPA was positive.
The table shows that five of the eight bunts with an exit velocity less than 30 MPH, had a positive WPA. For Perdomo, low velocity is one key to successful bunting.
In the postseason, Perdomo’s bunting increased from 4.3% of his PAs to 7.9% of his PAs, but had a very low impact on WPA (total of negative 2.5% WPA). Each postseason bunt was less than plus-or-minus 1% WPA, even when he bunted for a single.
His sacrifice hits led the Majors.
In the last two seasons, Geraldo Perdomo led the Majors in sacrifice hits.
In 2022, his 12 sacrifice hits tied with Nido(Mets) for the most in the Majors. In 2023, his 14 sacrifice hits was the most in the Majors.His batting with RISP led the Diamondbacks.
Last season, his .399 wOBA with RISP led the Diamondbacks (35 PA minimum). When runners were in scoring position, he added the most run expectancy.
His defense improved at shortstop.
His OAA improved from zero to four. His biggest strength was fielding balls in front of him. He had other strengths.
One highlight of his defense was when he was the cutoff man on 8 July. After Lourdes Gurriel fielded the ball, he threw to Geraldo Perdomo, who threw the ball to home plate, where Gabriel Moreno tagged out Henry Davis. That play finished fourth in the vote for the AZ Snake Pit Play-of-the-Year (regular season).
2024 Outlook
His OPS+ will improve from near-average to slightly-above-average because of his deep batting strengths (swinging strikes, contact percentage, walk to strikeout ratio, and wOBA with RISP).
His batting strenghths include batting against right-handed pitchers, bunting, and batting with RISP.
If Jordan Lawler’s defense at shortstop is ready for the Majors, if Jordan Lawler’s batting against left-handed pitchers improves to his AA/AAA levels, then Geraldo Perdomo could platoon with Jordan Lawler at shortstop. Otherwise, Geraldo Perdomo will remain everyday shortstop until Jordan Lawler is ready.