Toronto Blue Jays 2017 top prospects: #9 Angel Perdomo

Angel Perdomo looks to follow up his breakout 2016 season and jump into MLB’s top 100 prospects in the New Year with more experience under his belt.

When the Toronto Blue Jays signed Angel Perdomo for an unknown bonus amount (likely very low) in 2011, he was viewed as yet another raw, but talented pitcher coming out of the Dominican Republic. A pitcher, like many of his peers, who has a live arm that needs a great amount of refinement in the minor leagues. Fast forward 6 years later, and Perdomo has become Toronto’s top left-handed pitching prospect and arguably has the highest ceiling out of the Jays’ young arms.

Name: Angel Perdomo

Position: LHP       Age: 22

Height: 6′ 6”       Weight: 200 lbs.

Throws: Left       Bats: Left

Acquired: 2011, Undrafted free agent signing

Unlike many of the young pitchers in the Blue Jays system under Alex Anthopoulos‘ reign, Angel Perdomo was given time in rookie ball (3.5 years) to settle into his new surroundings and refine his mechanics and off speed pitches. It was in 2015 that Perdomo finally started to see his talent translate onto the field and in 2016, he represented the Blue Jays in both the MLB Futures Game and the Midwest League All-Star Game.

Perdomo stands out due to his size, deception, and “stuff”. Using a three pitch repertoire, including a mid-90’s fastball, a wipe out slider, and a fading change-up, the Dominican lefty frequently baffles opposing hitters and racks up the strikeouts. Many scouts even believe that the Jays’ top left handed pitching prospect could add a few more ticks to his fastball if he fills out his daunting 6′ 6” frame. The next step in Perdomo’s development will be to cut his walk totals (4.4 BB/9 average) while maintaining his great strikeout prowess (10.8 SO/9 average).

In 2017, Perdomo is expected to start with the Dunedin Blue Jays in single-A ball. If he dominates at the beginning of the season, there is compelling reason to believe that the Blue Jays management could develop Perdomo in an Aaron Sanchez-esque way given the desperate need of a left-handed reliever. Putting Perdomo in the bullpen would give him experience facing Major League hitters and allow his talent to translate into a lefty weapon for the Jays late in games. This method proved to be very successful with many of today’s top starting pitchers, most notably Chris Sale, a great comparison to Perdomo.

Whichever way he develops, put Perdomo on your list of Blue Jays prospects to watch in 2017. He could make contributions to the big league club as early as September when rosters expand and should be ready to fill impending holes in the rotation left by Marco Estrada, Francisco Liriano, and J.A. Happ in 2018 and 2019.

Next: Blue Jays sign pitcher Lucas Harrell to minor league deal

Top-30 Blue Jays prospect rankings:
#30: RHP Jordan Romano     #29: RHP Yennsy Diaz     #28: CF Reggie Pruitt
#27: 1B Ryan McBroom     #26: CF Roemon Fields     #25: 2B Cavan Biggio
#24: RHP Jose Espada     #23: RHP Patrick Murphy     #22: C Danny Jansen
#21: OF Dwight Smith Jr.     #20: RHP Zach Jackson     #19: RHP Francisco Rios
#18: OF Harold Ramirez     #17: C Max Pentecost     #16: Ryan Borucki
#15: OF Joshua Palacios     #14: OF J.B. Woodman     #13: C Reese McGuire
#12: RHP Conner Greene     #11: IF/OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. #10: SS Bo Bichette