Players / Player profile
KC · DH

Salvador Perez

Age 36 B/T R/R 6′2″, 255 lb Venezuela MLB debut 2011
40-man
  • Kansas City’s roster as it stands bench · 198 PA · 0.3 WAR in the role
  • Trade read Unlikely to be traded: 10-and-5 rights (14+ years of service, five straight seasons with KC): he can veto any trade.
xwOBA .317 wOBA .294
2026 fWAR −1.1
Projected 2027 WAR −0.3 at 379 PA · 0.3 in his 2027 role

Hitting · 2026 percentiles

vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 627 PA

xwOBA .317 xwOBA: .317, 44th percentile
Swing decisions −1.74 Swing decisions: −1.74, 2nd percentile
Contact value +1.57 Contact value: +1.57, 88th percentile
Bat speed 71.7 Bat speed: 71.7, 46th percentile
Squared-up / swing 22% Squared-up / swing: 22%, 41st percentile
Blasts / swing 8% Blasts / swing: 8%, 59th percentile
EV90 105.3 EV90: 105.3, 66th percentile
Barrel % 10.7% Barrel %: 10.7%, 72nd percentile
Chase % 44.7% Chase %: 44.7%, 2nd percentile
Zone contact 86.2% Zone contact: 86.2%, 62nd percentile
Strikeout % 19.0% Strikeout %: 19.0%, 65th percentile
Walk % 3.5% Walk %: 3.5%, 2nd percentile

Platoon splits · swing path

By pitcher handedness

vsPAwOBAxwOBAK%BB%ChaseDecisionsContact
LHP173.319.34519%3%47%−2.02+2.36
RHP454.284.30619%4%44%−1.64+1.25
Attack angle
11.5° (57% in 5–20°)
Attack direction
−3.8°
Swing length
7.7 ft
Fast-swing rate
18%
Pull-air %
20.7%
Hard-hit %
42.7%
Slash · wRC+
.229/.274/.383 · 77

Zone map · 2026

Where he does damage, and where to pitch him

+1.4−0.2+0.9−1.4−1.5−1.4+1.7+2.4−1.0+0.1−1.2+0.5−1.1−2.6−4.1−0.7+4.1−0.9−0.1−2.6−1.3+2.4−1.30.0−2.0RHB

Does the most damage down and in (+4.1 vs. league per 100; 1.8 standard errors on 68 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).

Weakest middle-away (−2.6), but only 1.3 standard errors from average on 138 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.

Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average RHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 2,019 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).

Most similar hitters

Swings like Perez: bat path, contact quality and approach

SimilarityPlayerxwOBA’26 WAR’27 proj2027
62Angel Martínez CLE · ’02.3031.81.0Pre-arb
61Daylen Lile WSH · ’02.3221.51.8Pre-arb
54Jeremy Peña HOU · ’97.3263.43.2Arb
50Jackson Merrill SD · ’03.3484.24.1Signed $7.1M
49Casey Schmitt SF · ’99.3531.91.4Arb

Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.

Fielding

2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.

2027 rating by position · best fit first, on the total with the position’s worth
C −3.7 +8.8
1B −1.6 −14.1
Outs Above Average by position
SeasonPosOAARangeArm, DPRunsBatters
20261B−3−2−0.5−2.5940
20251B00−0.6−0.61,051
20241B+5+4+0.3+4.31,630
20231B00+0.8+0.8791

Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.

Range by direction (OAA at 1B)
2025 · 1B2026 · 1B In (charging) +2+1Back −20Toward 3B line −2−3Toward 1B line +10vs. RHH 00vs. LHH 0−3

At 1B in 2026, the biggest loss came toward 3B line (−3 outs): a coaching target.

Tools (percentile among MLB fielders)
Arm strength 70.2 mph · 2nd
Sprint speed 23.7 ft/s · 1st
Zone rating (Keystone expected outs)
SeasonZoneBallsOuts vs. exp.
20261B63−0.2
20251B70+1.4
20241B85+4.4

The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.

Compare in the Fielding Lab →

Contract & projection

Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR

2027 −0.3 WAR Guaranteed $12.5M
2028 −1.0 WAR Free agent
2029 −1.6 WAR Free agent
2030 −2.1 WAR Free agent

Contract Studio →

ABS challenges · 2026

Baseball Savant

As batter 89% 8/9 won · +0.7 runs
As catcher 71% 46/65 won · +0.8 runs
Keystone is an independent portfolio project. It is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or any club. Data: MLB Stats API, Baseball Savant, FanGraphs. Used under their terms for individual, non-commercial use.