Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Three Late Round Picks Off to Strong Starts

Dominic Perachi

Dominic Perachi was the Pirates' 11th-round draft pick last season. D3 schools aren't typically a hotbed for baseball talent, but that's where Perachi came from. Perachi is coming out of Salve Regina, where he posted a 1.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 6.0 K:BB ratio. Perachi allowed just two home runs across 71.1 innings while striking out over 40% of his opponents (41.8%) and only dishing out a walk to 20 batters (7% walk rate).

So far, for Bradenton, Perachi has been nothing but excellent. He has only pitched 20.1 innings but owns a 2.61 ERA, 3.05 FIP, and 1.45 WHIP. Perachi has continued to strikeout batters at a high rate, with a 29.3% strikeout rate, and he has yet to allow a home run. Perachi also has a ground ball rate above 50% at 51.9%. The area in which Perachi has struggled is preventing the free pass with a 9.6% strikeout rate. Even then, below 10% is definitely workable.

Perachi has run into some poor luck, however. He has a batting average on balls in play of .396. That, along with the mediocre walk rate, has inflated his WHIP. Perachi, despite working through the raindrops, has remained effective. Although the left-hander is talented, he doesn't do it with his velocity.

During his most recent start on Wednesday, Perachi's four-seamer maxed out at just 92.1 MPH. He typically sits 89-91 MPH but pairs that with a change-up, slider, and curveball. His slider sits in the low-80s, as does his change-up. His curveball, meanwhile, sits in the mid-to-upper-70s.