Luis Perales Portland Sea Dogs Pitcher

       
 
Age: 22
Born: April 14, 2003
Birthplace: Guacara, Venezuela
Height: 6-1
Weight: 160
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
   
Drafted: Not draft eligible
How Acquired: International free agent
(July 2019)
ETA: Mid 2026

Photo © Kelly O'Connor
Luis Perales photos by Kelly O'Connor
Pronunciation: per-AHL-ess
First Pro Contract: July 2, 2019 (BOS)
Signing Scouts: Leinin Rodriguez &
Rolando Pino
Signing Bonus: $75,000
Rule 5 Draft Eligible: N/A
MLFA Eligible: N/A
   
Pro Debut: July 13, 2021 (DSL)
Added to 40-man: November 14, 2023 (BOS)
MLB Debut: -
Service Time (1/25): 0 days
Options Remaining: 2 (2024)
Contract (2025): $760,000
   
Twitter:
Instagram: @luis_perales14

 
 
 
 
 
     
  Scouting Report & Links      
         
  Physical Description: Average, athletic frame. Has some projection left and should add strength as he matures.

Mechanics: Throws from a high three-quarters arm slot from the first base side of the rubber. Steps backwards toward first base before a medium-to-high leg kick prior to delivery. Finishes off-balance towards first base, with a pronounced leg kick up on his follow-through. Makes himself small when coming forward while keeping his arm high. Very quick arm with short arm action and a slight stab behind. Moderate arm effort.

Fastball: 95-98 mph. Tops out at 99 mph. Pitch averages just under 20 inches of induced vertical break, which allows it to play up in the zone with carry and ride to induce swinging strikes. Type of fastball shape teams look for because it leads to the ability to miss bats up in the zone. Command and control need substantial work; will leave the pitch in the middle of the zone too often where it is straight and very hittable. Used to rely more heavily on his fastball, but cut down its usage significantly in 2024 prior to injury, allowing the pitch to play even better. Potential plus-plus offering.

Cutter: 88-92 mph. Short, horizontal break. Greatly improved in 2024 and become a viable part of his arsenal that he would use early to get ahead and generate weak contact. Plays well off his other pitches and flashed bat-missing ability. Potential average offering.

Slider: 83-85 mph. 11-to-5 shape. Advanced for his age. Good feel for spin. Gets over the pitch and can snap it off. Can locate in the zone or out of the zone to induce swinging strikes. Looks a lot like a curveball, but he calls it a slider. Potential above-average offering.

Splitter: 85-88 mph. Evolved from his changeup and he calls it a splitter even though it has a higher spin rate and looks like a changeup at times. Will show premium bat-missing ability and can pull the string on it with late fading/dropping action. Bottom really falls out of the pitch when he throws it well. Primarily used against left-handed hitters. Potential plus offering.
  Career Notes: Was not a highly-touted amateur prospect out of Venezuela. Began to show much higher promise after signing, particularly in the Tricky League in the summer of 2019. Emerged quickly as a prospect to follow. Was limited to one game due to injuries in 2021. Organization heavily monitored his workload in 2022, limiting him to no more than three innings per start. Still broke out and rose quickly into the SoxProspects top 20 by the end of the season. Earned a promotion to Salem following the end of the 2022 FCL season. Was set to participate in the 2022 Fall Performance Program that was canceled due to Hurricane Ian. Was added to the 40-man roster in November 2023 to protect him from selection in the Rule 5 Draft. Participated in the Red Sox Rookie Development Program in January 2024. Tore the UCL in his pitching elbow in June 2024 and underwent Tommy John surgery in late June. Missed the entire second half of 2024 and likely will miss most of 2025 as well, if not the entire season. Had debuted in Baseball America’s Top 100 just before suffering the injury.

Summation: Potential mid-rotation starter. Ceiling of a number two starter. If he has to move to the bullpen, could be a high-leverage reliever with premium bat-missing ability. Tommy John surgery has clouded his future. Was seen as a wide-variance arm prior to his injury with a high ceiling and low floor, and the injury has made that range of outcomes even larger. Prior to his injury, he would show four at least average pitches, with two grading out as at least plus. Made substantial adjustments to his arsenal in 2024, deemphasizing his fastball and using his cutter to get ahead and get quick outs. This allowed him to be more efficient and pitch deeper into games, which alleviated some concerns about him having to move to the bullpen. Improved cutter also allowed his other pitches to play up, especially his fastball and splitter, which both showed premium bat-missing ability. Has the best raw stuff of any arm in the system and was identified early on in 2022 as the top pitching prospect in the Florida Complex League. Arsenal has evolved, but remains to be seen what it will look like when he returns.

Links
State of the System: Low Minors Pitchers (4.2.20)
Countdown to Spring Training (3.8.2023)
Spring Training Video (3.19.2023)
Notes from the Field: Luis Perales and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz (4.26.23)
Scouting Scratch: The changes that unlocked Luis Perales' potential (5.31.24)
 
   
     
    Pitching Stats                                          
  year team lg level org age w l era g gs sv ip h r er hr  hbp bb so whip k/9 bb/9
2021 DSL Red Sox DSL Rk Bos 18 0 0 4.50 1 1 0 2.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 3 1.00 13.50 4.50
2022 FCL Red Sox FCL Rk Bos 19 0 1 1.08 9 7 0 25.0 10 4 3 0 1 9 34 0.76 12.24 3.24
  2022 Salem Red Sox Car A Bos 19 0 1 3.38 4 4 0 10.2 10 7 4 1 1 11 16 1.97 13.50 9.28
  2023 Salem Red Sox Car A Bos 20 4 4 3.21 13 13 0 53.1 38 22 19 2 1 28 71 1.24 11.98 4.73
  2023 Greenville Drive SAL A+ Bos 20 0 3 4.95 8 8 0 36.1 39 24 20 8 1 22 44 1.68 10.90 5.45
  2024 Greenville Drive SAL A+ Bos 21 1 2 3.42 7 7 0 26.1 28 14 10 1 2 10 46 1.44 15.72 3.42
  2024 Portland Sea Dogs East AA Bos 21 1 0 1.23 2 2 0 7.1 4 3 1 0 1 2 10 0.82 12.27 2.45
  2025 Portland Sea Dogs East AA Bos 22     stats                            
   
     
  Advanced Stats & Splits
   
     
  Awards   SoxProspects.com Awards  
  Florida Complex League Pitcher of the Week (July 11-17, 2022)
Florida Complex League Pitcher of the Month (July 2022)
Red Sox Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month (July 2022)
Carolina League Pitcher of the Week (June 12-18, 2023)
  SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Month (July 2022)
2022 SoxProspects.com All-Star
2022 SoxProspects.com Rookie of the Year
2023 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star 
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (June 26 - July 2, 2023)
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (September 11-17, 2023)
2024 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star 
 
   

   
     
 
 
 
     
 
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