Salvador Perez -- Prospect Evaluation

The author attended Kansas City Royals scout school in fall 2008 and was tasked with identifying a prospect outside of the well-known Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer who could develop into a solid everyday major-league player. After shadowing players throughout the week and gathering information from coaches, trainers, and teammates, the author selected 18-year-old Venezuelan catcher Salvador Perez as the subject of his scouting report.

Since that initial evaluation, Perez has made substantial progress. In 2009, he earned the Royals' best defensive player award. In 2010, he finished eighth in the league in batting average and was selected to the Carolina League All-Star team. Baseball America consistently named him the organization's best defensive catcher entering the 2009, 2010, and 2011 seasons. He was subsequently ranked as Kansas City's 20th-best prospect by Kevin Goldstein and participated in the Royals Futures Game at Kauffman Stadium.

Notably, the scouting department had expressed concern that Perez would outgrow the catcher position, but he has developed into a legitimate catching prospect despite these initial reservations. The author indicated he viewed Perez more positively than some in the scouting department, and the catcher's trajectory has validated this assessment.