Brewers News: CF Hedbert Perez Added to 60-Man Player Pool

The Brewers have had at least two spots open on their 60-man roster since the season began. On Wednesday, they brought that number down to one.

The Brewers have moved ever closer to filling out their 60-man roster over the last couple days. Yesterday, they announced the addition of RHP Justin Topa to their alternate training site. Today, an even younger prospect was rumored to be added.

Perez marks the eighth member of the Brewers Top 30 Prospects list per MLB Pipleline to be named to the 60-man roster this year. It also makes him one of just three primary outfielders at the training site.

With Hedbert Perez’s addition to the secondary training site, this brings the team’s 60-man pool to 59. So just who is this teenager who will be joining the group of aspiring big leaguers up the road in Appleton?

Who is Hedbert Perez?

The son of Robert Perez, a former Blue Jay, Mariner, Yankee, and even brief Brewer, Hedbert is a 17-year old out of Venezuela who has really shown his athleticism and talent over the past year with the Brewers. Milwaukee players such as Avisail Garcia, Orlando Arcia, Manny Pina, and Omar Narvaez hail from Venezuela and have had successful careers so far.

Perez was signed to a $700,000 bonus when he signed in 2019 as an international free agent, the second-highest bonus given to a player signed by Milwaukee. Even at his young age, he sits at No. 8 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Brewers prospects list.

According to the MLB Pipeline’s profile on Perez, he is “one of the better pure hitters in his class.” It make sense, then, that they grade him at a 55-grade hit tool to go along with 50-grade power. That is some tantalizing offensive potential.

On top of his promising hitting, Perez brings 60-grade speed, some of the fastest in the organization, as well as 55-grade fielding and arm strength. That combination of tools should give him plenty of defensive potential to go along with what he brings to the plate.

As for right now, we won’t be seeing Perez play any big league games with the Brewers, he’ll just be practicing with the big league guys and getting a feel for professional baseball. Since there’s no minor league baseball in 2020, this is the perfect opportunity for Perez to develop and stay on track with his progress.

This is a great addition to the player pool for Milwaukee. It’ll be exciting to watch Perez grow as a player and see his potential as he makes his 2020 debut in Appleton.