In a battle of über-prospects in the Double-A Southern League on Friday, the edge went to … both of them?
There was considerable hype surrounding the matchup of Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez and Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio -- each the top-ranked prospect in their respective organization -- and it lived up to the billing and then some. Pérez, baseball’s No. 11 overall prospect, fanned Chourio, ranked No. 6, in their first two meetings before the toolsy Venezuelan drilled a three-run homer in the fifth inning.
Chourio’s Biloxi Shuckers came out on top, beating Pérez’s Pensacola Blue Wahoos by a 7-1 final score.
Pérez returned to Double-A to open the season after a strong 2022 campaign in which he struck out 106 batters over 75 innings in 17 starts. He was solid in his first start of 2023, striking out five and only allowing one earned run, but he needed 89 pitches to get through four innings. Making his second start a day before his 20th birthday, Pérez faced no easy task in Chourio and the Shuckers.
With a runner on first and no outs in the opening frame, Pérez came at Chourio with a mix of changeups and fastballs. While his command of the cambio wavered in this plate appearance, Pérez was at his best with the heater. In a 2-2 count, he reached back for 98 mph and blew it past Chourio with ease to record the first out of the night.
Velo is the name of the game for the lanky righty from the Dominican Republic. Pérez put his arm strength on display in front of Statcast machines in Spring Training, throwing 22 pitches at 99 mph or better and touching as high as 99.7 on multiple occasions. He clearly looked like a teenager facing Major League veterans -- finishing with a 7.59 ERA in four outings -- but there is a reason he has been on prospect radars for years.
Chourio was geared up for the fastball in Round 2, and he came up empty when Pérez buried a first-pitch changeup in the dirt. He gave Chourio what he was looking for with a pitch at 99 mph that was fouled off. Ahead 0-2, Pérez had some fun, breaking off a slider at 87 mph that Chourio took a defeated hack at. Through two matchups, Eury was in complete control.
But Chourio didn’t just earn a top-10 global ranking entering his age-19 season for the work he’s done against lesser arms. He belted 20 home runs a season ago and ended the year with the Shuckers in Double-A, where the average player was over six years his senior. Chourio hasn’t missed a beat yet in 2023, homering twice in his first six games, including a dramatic walk-off in the 10th inning on Tuesday.
So it would have been foolish to expect a lack of fireworks when matching up against one of the Minors’ best.
The Shuckers had already gotten to a tiring Pérez in the fifth, stringing together a single, walk and double to score a run. With two outs and a pair of runners in scoring position, Chourio jumped on a first-pitch changeup and pounded it into the ground, foul. When Pérez came back with the same pitch, Chourio didn’t miss it.
An electric batter-pitcher matchup if there ever was one. The pair should see each other plenty in the National League for years to come.