Fayetteville, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers, in conjunction with Minor League Baseball, announced Monday that right-handed pitcher Javier Perez has been named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending on June 7th, 2026. This marks the first league award for Perez and the first Fayetteville pitcher to receive the weekly honor this season.
On Friday night at home against Columbia, Perez put together a career night in the starter role, retiring the first 15 hitters he faced and cruising through 7.0 shutout innings while striking out a career-high ten. It marked the second outing of at least 7.0 innings in Perez’s career after going 8.0 shutout innings on May 14th at Delmarva.
Perez has been a staple of the Woodpeckers starting rotation since Opening Weekend, pitching to a 2.82 ERA with 64 strikeouts and showcasing elite command issuing just nine walks over 54.1 total innings. Across the Carolina League, the 22-year-old ranks second in strikeouts (64), WHIP (0.83) and opponent batting average (.181) while also sporting the sixth-lowest qualifying ERA at 2.82. The second-year Carolina League arm was acquired by the Houston Astros as an International Free Agent out of Guasave, Mexico in March of 2024.
The Woodpeckers head to Salem, Virginia to play the Salem RidgeYaks on Tuesday, June 9th for the start of a six-game road series. The club returns to Segra Stadium on June 16th hosting Kannapolis and Delmarva over a 12-game homestand.