NolaJeffy: Three Prospects to Watch Outside the Top 25
Keep an eye out for . . .
Dominic Perachi, LHP
If you’ve been following us long enough and read enough of our drivel, you’d know I have become personally enamored with Dominic Perachi, the lanky LHP drafted in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. On the surface, there isn’t anything that jumps off the page unless you consider a 2.08 ERA in 73.2 IP with the Greensboro Grasshoppers jumping, albeit as a 23-year-old college-drafted arm.
My personal opinion is that he spent too long in High-A, getting an early two-appearance promotion to Altoona in April before returning to Greensboro. He made the jump to Double-A for good in August, finishing off with a 6.15 ERA in 41.0 IP with the Curve. Not pretty numbers, but putting aside the defense in Double-A left A LOT to be desired, I think there were some things to be excited about.
In 2023, whenever Perachi pitched, he relied heavily on a loopy curveball. It was great if he caught hitters off guard, but not great if they were looking for it. In 2024, he appeared to tighten it up a bit while also adding a slider to change speeds and looks. What popped out the most to me was the shape of his fastball, which also appeared to gain a little steam. Given Greensboro and Altoona don’t have readily available readings, it’s hard to truly tell, but he was (reportedly) getting his fastball up to 92-93 in a game against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, touched 94, after usually sitting high 80’s to low 90’s throughout his career.
After throwing a combined 114.2 IP in 2024, I think if he maintains the arsenal he showcased, then there’s a chance Perachi could squeeze his name into backend rotation talk popping a 93-94 heater from the left side, that generated a lot of whiffs when he was on.
Carlos Caro & Roinny Aguiar, UTL
I was going to do Carlos Caro and Roinny Aguiar separately, but since both players have relatively similar profiles and projections, I’m just going to combine them. If you’re a prospect feen like us, you may have heard them mentioned here before — similar to my pick Perachi above — or they may sound familiar for popping up on Eric Longenhagen’s mid-year update in 2024. Caro — standing 5’11” and 160 lbs — ranked 37th on the Pirates list, with Aguiar — at 5’7” and 160 lbs — showing up in the “Low-Level Middle Infielders” among other prospects of note.
Neither prospect is going to have much frame for growth, but they are a lot of fun to watch swing the bat. They give it their all, and they were two of the not well-known hitters that stood out to me while watching the Complex League streams. In 42 games, Caro had a 135 wRC+ with only two home runs but added eight doubles and two triples while swiping nine bases in twelve attempts. Aguiar got into 37 games, collecting only two doubles and a triple while amassing a less-ideal 80 wRC+ with the FCL squad. Caro played well enough that he got a seven-game stint with Bradenton to finish the year and posted an 84 wRC+ in his time there.
What will be particularly interesting to me will be how they are utilized in 2025, given their speed and limited infield defensive upside, I could easily see one or both making the switch to the outfield. They don’t have the raw power upside of a Lonnie White Jr., but they both were making relatively quality contact for their size in Complex League. If they could maintain as they move up, then I think they could become interesting OF/CF options with their legs and gain more traction as intriguing international prospects.
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I don't see Esmerlyn Valdez and refuse to read on.
Perachi and Caro are two of my favorites. Perachi because he is coming from out of nowhere - Salve Regina College - to get better and better as he continues to develop and the competition seems to be what he is feeding on. The better the competition the better he pitches. If he keeps that up we have something.
Caro, although slightly built, came out of the DSL with 5 HR's in 2023. Follow the DSL through the years and possibly one or two players on the Pirates hits that many HR's. He seems to have natural pop and does not strike out a lot. In the FCL I think he had 22 BB and 24 K's.