Getting to know Yankees pitching prospect Freicer Perez

There’s a young right-handed pitcher down at Low-A Charleston that has begun to catch the attention of Yankees scouts and fans alike. His name is Freicer Perez.

Let me start out by saying that I know it’s still way too early in the development of Yankees minor league pitcher Freicer Perez to get overly excited about his Pedro Martinez-like “stuff,” or how his 6-foot-8, 190-pound frame is reminiscent of Dellin Betances.

But when you’re only 21 years of age, able to consistently top 100 mph on the radar gun, in addition to possessing a repertoire of a changeup, curveball and devastating slider, it’s hard not to start planning ahead. That’s what scouting prospects is all about.

No one is going out on a limb profiling Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres or Justus Sheffield. Those guys have been talked about nonstop since the day they joined the Yankees’ organization.

Shedding light on a player signed in 2014 from the Dominican Republic for a mere $10,000 is much more fun, and rewarding.

More from Yankees News

• No, Yankees should not acquire Trevor Bauer for 2023
• Yankees’ Marwin González replaces Red Sox LF in Japan in logical next step
• Blue Jays overpaying for Yankees trade target shows they’re trying too hard
• Aaron Judge’s influence on Carlos Rodón shows he’s more powerful than Yankees
• Yankees sign 2022 Red Sox reliever, invite him to spring training

Discovered during a showcase that Perez’s agent set up, the then 18-year-old jumped at the chance to sign with the Yankees.

With a silky smooth delivery that compliments his bread and butter fastball, Perez tweaked his approach this season at Low-A Charleston — attacking hitters early in the count as to avoid long drawn out at-bats that at times lead to a string of walks.

In 112.2 innings pitched for the RiverDogs this seasons, Perez has gone 10-3 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.154 WHIP and an impressive 8.5 K/9.

Though the burgeoning shooter has plunked a career high 13 batters, in addition to making four errors in only 15 chances, Perez put it all together last Saturday night — tossing five scoreless frames of two hit ball, while striking out six.

Following the 5-0 victory, RiverDogs manager Patrick Osborn praised Perez’s bulldog mentality.

“(Perez) looked really good, he had a little extra on his fastball. I don’t know if he was feeling extra rested and wanted to amp it up. He knew he was going five innings and thought he could burn a little extra fuel at the beginning of the game, but he pitched really well.”

Next: Billy McKinney deserves call up consideration

Holding the opposition to a .220 batting average with a 42.7 percent ground ball rate versus a 39.3 fly ball rate points to continued success for a pitcher whose velocity has improved in each of his first three professional seasons.