Wenceel Perez is Establishing Himself as a Big Part of the Tigers’ Future

The Detroit Tigers currently sit at 81-61, the second-most wins in the American League. Spencer Torkelson having a huge bounce back, Dillion Dingler elevating to an unexpected level, and Zach McKinstry having, by far, the best year of his career are big reasons why the Tigers are were they are.

Another key factor in their success has been the impact of second-year outfield Wenceel Perez.

Perez was on the bubble to make the team out of spring training before an injury made the roster decision for him. Injuries also paved the path for him to enter the lineup upon his return with Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling each missing significant chunks of the season. Perez joined the team in late May and has made the most of his opportunity ever since.

What we have seen from Perez does not look like a fluke. The sample size, and adjustments from last season, have grown to the point that this once AAAA player is now looking like a part of the Tigers plans now and into the future.

All stats taken prior to play on September 5th

2025 Improvements

Perez caught fans attention last season due to a hot start and a few clutch moments. He quickly became a fan favorite and it is easy to see why. However, his .621 second half OPS and struggles against lefties made me wonder just how high his ceiling was.

Perez was a solid, but not highly-rated, prospect known for a more bat-to-ball approach and no defensive home. Of course, what a player is as a rookie does not mean that is what he will be going forward. Growth happens with development and time on task and Perez is showing how true that is in 2025.

What has jumped out to me has been Perez’s ability to impact the baseball. His ISO has jumped from .141 last season to .210 this season while his home run output (12) has already surpassed last years total (9) in 32 less games.

The added pop has come as a welcomed surprise and drastically changes his value to this team. We aren’t talking about a couple of home runs sneaking out in homer friendly parks, either. We are seeing legitimate changes with a more confident swing which has seen his hard hit rate shoot up by 12% and his barrel rate more than double.

Sure, Perez is swinging and missing more than last season but not to an extent that has brought his value down. He seems to have found the happy medium where he still makes roughly league average contact while seeing his power tick up.

Perhaps the most impactful difference in Perez from 2024 to 2025 is how he has handled left-handed pitching. Albeit only a 96 plate appearance sample, last season Perez slashed .209/.292/.302 with a .594 OPS and five extra base hits off southpaws.

His switch-hitting abilities were not nearly as useful when he essentially was a platoon bat. In order to gain a larger chunk of playing time he needed to correct the splits.

Perez has drastically flipped that narrative slashing .333/.367/.625 with a .992 OPS and 11 extra base hits, including four home runs, in only 79 plate appearances against lefties this season. He went from hitting .222 off fastballs from lefties to .341 and more than doubled his average against lefties’ breaking balls.

The sample size obviously plays a factor here. Numbers will become more true over time and we will see which season paints the actual picture. But, the changes he’s been able to make in one season against lefties needs to be noted.

Via Baseball Savant

The graph above shows the percent of time Perez reaches the ideal attack angle against lefties in 2024 compared to 2025. I know, I know, ideal attack angle is a bit too far or “goofy” of a stat for some but please keep going, I’ll dial it back soon.

Ideal attack angle is when a ball is hit between 5-20 degrees off the bat. For a player like Perez, that’s where he’s going to be his best. More line drives, shooting gaps, and launching a few out leads to success and we have already seen it with his groundball rate dropping significantly against lefties compared to last year.

Overall, Perez simply looks more comfortable in the box. When he went through a rough spell in July I was afraid we were going to see a similar decline to what we saw last season. Instead, Perez was able to bounce back, continue to make adjustments, and deliver.

Future Outlook

How the outfield will eventually shake out has been a topic amongst Tigers fans for the better part of a year. Parker Meadows breakout last season and top 25 prospect Max Clark combined with young, but more established options in Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter make things look a bit crowded.

I still believe in Meadows and think this is more or less a lost season for him. However, we have not seen a sample size large enough to truly know what Meadows can, or will, be. The same can be said for Perez, as well.

Clark is tracking towards being a well above average major leaguer and Greene is already a star. Carpenter might need to slide over to DH more often, which shouldn’t be a complaint from anyone. If Meadows, Clark, Greene is the eventually “everyday” outfield Perez can serve as the fourth outfielder while still finding starts with Meadows and Greene being no stranger to injury.

To be honest, I love Perez as the fourth outfielder. We cannot look at this role as simply a depth piece, either. Every year we see the first off the bench outfielder make a higher number of starts than anticipated and we all know Hinch loves in game substitutions playing the matchups.

Perez being a switch-hitter gives Hinch a weapon to use no matter who is on the mound. Having a player of Perez’s caliber as a pinch-hitter, where he carries a .857 career OPS in 17 PH appearances, is something I know Hinch will want going forward.

Also, the Tigers will have Perez on an affordable contract for some time. He does not hit arbitration until 2027 and will not reach free agency until 2030. There’s still a lot to be proven before we worry too much about his contract but knowing the team has control for a number of seasons always helps.

Keep in mind, Perez only has just over 700 career plate appearances. He’s still a developing player and could have more to uncover. I am not saying improvement is a given, but I am also not ready to say he is what he is. In the end, I think he will be an above-average player who will be hitting his prime over the next couple of seasons when the Tigers should be in the thick of playoff appearances.

Final Thoughts

Perez is not a perfect player. His defense is fine, he could improve the swing and miss, and his base running blunders need to improve. However, he is a good player with a ceiling that I don’t think has been reached. In team building, you collect as many of those players as you can.

In many ways Perez was already becoming a fan favorite before this season. The improvements he’s made coupled with how he stepped up when the team was injured only solidified that title. Despite bigger names and higher rated prospects on the way, I see Perez as part of the Tigers future.