Carlos Perez

Perez seemed to be primed to take over the starting catcher job for the Angels after a strong finish to the 2015 season. Things didn't quite pan out the way anyone hoped, as the backstop ended up spending a bit of time in the minors during July after batting just .204 with 23 RBI through the first half of the season. He returned to the majors pretty quickly, but his results didn't improve all that much, as he mustered just a .220 batting average with eight RBI over the remainder of the season while losing the starting job to Jett Bandy. Perez's minor league success at the plate implies that a breakout could sit on the horizon, although he'll have to find that improvement quickly. The Angels traded Bandy to Milwaukee yet probably prefer newly acquired Martin Maldonado to Perez, who's only worth watching in two-catcher mixed and AL-only leagues.

Perez was considered the third catcher on the depth chart behind Chris Iannetta and Drew Butera after being acquired from the Astros in the offseason, but the rookie caught fire in Triple-A Salt Lake in April, and was recalled in Early May after tallying a .361/.418/.556 slash line with two homers. Perez increasingly gained time behind the plate due to the struggles of Chris Iannetta, and rebounded from a rough summer to post a .933 OPS in September. Perez seems locked in as the starting catcher in 2016 after Iannetta elected free agency, but showed himself to be more of a defensive catcher over time, finishing the season with a .299 on-base percentage and .346 slugging percentage over 86 games. If Perez can pick up from his strong final month, he could be worth a look in deeper leagues, but it seems likely that his power surge was a product of Salt Lake, as he posted an ISO under .100 in his time with the big club.

Perez scuffled along at Low-A Lansing, hitting just .256/.320/.355 on the heels of a pair of nice seasons the previous two years. He'll likely start the season at High-A Dunedin which will be a very stiff test for the 21-year-old backstop. He's been passed back up by Travis d'Arnaud in the organizational pecking order among catching prospects and is a good candidate to get dealt if the Jays try to upgrade at a few positions. The skill set is there for a retrenching year but it'll likely get masked by the pitcher-friendly confines of the Florida State League.

Perez already comes with a strong defensive reputation, so it's a positive sign that his bat is beginning to draw some attention as well. He more than held his own as a 19-year-old at Low-A Auburn last season, hitting .298 with 34 walks and 41 strikeouts in 278 plate appearances. He'll presumably start to show more power as he matures and gains experience, and his glove figures to keep him behind the plate as he advances. He's a name to keep an eye on as he moves to the pitcher-friendly Florida State League.