No matter the situation Wild Things’ Perez answers the call
Kelvin Perez has been the ultimate utility player on the Wild Things’ pitching staff.
Need somebody to pitch the sixth or seventh inning in a setup role? Perez has been that guy. Need a guy to pitch in long relief? Perez has answered that call. Need somebody to throw in an emergency because the starting pitcher has just left the game with an injury? Yep, Perez has filled that role, too.
These days, Perez has been pitching, not in the late innings or the middle of the game, but rather in the first inning. He recently moved into the starting rotation after Washington lost four starters to major league organizations. And he has been thriving in the role.
Perez became the ninth different Wild Things starting pitcher this season to have a quality start (at least six innings pitched and no more than three earned runs) on Tuesday when he went 6.1 innings against Lake Erie, allowing only one run with six strikeouts. Over his last two starts, covering 11.1 innings, Perez has yielded only three runs.
Though he’s pitched in various situations and in different innings of games, there is one frame – actually, it’s the middle of an inning – that Perez likes best. During Wild Things home games, and in many games across the Frontier League, a “Veteran of the Game” is honored, along with all current and former military personnel.
Perez’s wife, Nawal Yassine, is a U.S. Army veteran.
“I like to support the veterans and it makes me think about her every night,” Perez said. ‘She is back in Florida with our children. I wear an Army headband when I’m not pitching, to show my support of her and the veterans.”
Perez, who played in the Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves farm systems, has pitched in 15 games for the Wild Things, including three starts. He has a 3-2 record and 4.58 ERA.
Perez’s wife also knows a little about baseball. She’s watched his recent starts and gave this assessment:
“She said I look like a starter,” Perez said. “She has always said that, but I never had the opportunity.”
After Perez made 12 relief appearances, the Wild Things’ starting rotation was decimated but for a good reason. Washington had four starters picked up by major league organizations. Wild Things manager Tom Vaeth turned to Perez as an emergency stopgap and inserted him into the rotation.
“He just asked me if I wanted to start,” Perez recalled. “I hadn’t started a game since I was 14 or 15 years old back in Venezuela.”
One thing Perez quickly realized was that he didn’t have any pregame routine for being a starter. How long before game time do you start throwing? What do you do before throwing in the bullpen?
“I asked (former Wild Thing starter) Maddox Long about what he does. He helped me set up a routine. I asked my old pitching coaches with the Blue Jays, I asked my pitching coach here (Larry Flowerman). They helped me. I’m still trying to figure it out. It’s still a work in progress.
“Now I’m feeling really comfortable. I would love to be a starter,” Perez said.
One reason Vaeth brought in Perez during the offseason was the latter’s ability to get ahead in the count. He has averaged only 1.4 walks per nine innings over five professional seasons.
“He throws strikes,” Vaeth said earlier this season. “He has a reputation of being a strike thrower, that’s why I worked so hard to sign him. When he can do that and get ahead in the count, you can expand the zone and be successful.”