The situation: The Dodgers are likely going to be without Howie Kendrick for a decent amount of time, and with Justin Turner already on the DL, Los Angeles will call up Peraza to man the keystone.
Background: Peraza was given six figures by the Braves in the summer of 2010 as an athletic but raw middle infielder, and he’s moved quicker than even Atlanta – and maybe even Peraza – could have imagined. After making his stateside debut in 2012, Peraza took a major step forward in 2014, hitting .339 at the High-A and Double-A level, stealing 60 bases in the process. Another strong campaign made him one of the more highly-touted trade deadline candidates, and the Dodgers were able to procure his services along with Jim Johnson and Alex Wood in the deal that sent Hector Olivera over to Atlanta.
Scouting report: Peraza’s best tool is his speed – as evidenced by his 204 stolen bases since 2011 – but he’s not just a burner; he’s a player who reads pitchers well and while he’s not without his ill-fated attempts (49 caught stealing in the same timeframe) he’s generally a pretty good bet to take the extra base.
That speed is useless if you can’t get on base though, and Peraza has shown he can do just that. His swing has very little wasted movement – short to the ball with very little loft – and with his excellent bat-to-ball skills he’ll shoot line drives to every part of the field. Because of his slight build and lack of uppercut, power isn’t part of his game, but there’s enough wrist strength to put the ball into the gap, and he can turn singles into doubles with the aforementioned speed. Unfortunately, he’s shown fits of being far too aggressive at the plate, and too often he will beat himself by swinging at pitches out of the strike zone with very few walks and/or working the count into his favor.
Atlanta moved Peraza off of shortstop two years ago in large part due to the presence of Andrelton Simmons, and while he doesn’t have Simmons’ defensive prowess (few do), he could certainly hold his own as a big-league shortstop. His arm strength is only average, but his athleticism is upper-echelon, and his hands and footwork are both good enough to be above-average there. It appears Los Angeles will keep him at second base – where he’s outstanding – but it shouldn’t shock anyone if he ended up playing shortstop as a regular at some point.
Immediate Big League Future: Because Peraza is so aggressive – a nice word for saying he has a mediocre approach – he’s going to be the type of guy who goes through his ups and downs as the BABIP monster toys with him. He’ll help on defense immediately, but unless the approach improves significantly, I’m not sure he’ll be anything more than a bottom of the order hitter, albeit one who puts up a boatload of stolen bases. – Christopher Crawford
Fantasy Impact: The fact that the Dodgers have summoned Peraza from Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he has hit .385/.415/.590 over 10 games since being acquired as the centerpiece in the Hector Olivera deal, likely means that Howie Kendrick’s left hamstring strain is a bit more serious than a garden variety “day-to-day” injury.
Need speed? Good news, it’s Peraza’s main calling card. While he’s an absolute nightmare on the base paths (27 stolen bases already this year), he hardly ever draws a walk (4 percent walk rate this season) and he doesn’t hit for power. Prior to the trade to Los Angeles, Peraza hit .294/.318/.379 with three home runs over 427 plate appearances for Triple-A Gwinnett. The speed is real and it matters. How the Dodgers distribute playing time among their plethora of infield options will likely determine just how valuable Peraza is down the stretch, but the speed alone makes him worth rostering in just about every league.
With only a handful of impact hitters (Jose Reyes, Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon Moss) coming over to the senior circuit at the non-waiver trade deadline just over a week ago, it’s likely that fantasy owners in NL-only formats are still sitting on a hefty pile of FAAB. If your roster is in need of a speed injection, Peraza is worth a sizeable investment. A $5-$10 FAAB bid should be enough to roster the burner in mixed leagues. –George Bissell
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