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Midseason Top 50 MLB Prospects: 21-30

By Benjamin Chase

KISSIMMEE, FL - JANUARY 28: Baseball gloves and a baseball lie in the dirt during the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring on January 28, 2011 at the Houston Astros Spring Training Complex in Kissimmee, Florida. Jim Evans was a Major League Umpire for 28 years that included umpiring four World Series. Many of his students have gone on to work on all levels of baseball including the Major Leagues. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
KISSIMMEE, FL - JANUARY 28: Baseball gloves and a baseball lie in the dirt during the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring on January 28, 2011 at the Houston Astros Spring Training Complex in Kissimmee, Florida. Jim Evans was a Major League Umpire for 28 years that included umpiring four World Series. Many of his students have gone on to work on all levels of baseball including the Major Leagues. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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30. Franklin Perez, RHP, Houston Astros

At 6’3″ and roughly 200 pounds, Perez is a built well for starting. The Astros originally signed him out of Venezuela in 2014, and he’s developed quickly physically, which has allowed him to find a hold on his stuff quicker than most that are usually still growing into their body at 19. Perez has a fastball that can touch upper 90s but works best in the 92-94 range with excellent wiggle. He has a change with very good movement as well that pairs tremendously with his fastball.

Perez saw the control on his curve come forward a ton this year, and the pitch was already a plus pitch based on its movement. Add in the added command and control of his slider, which is an above-average, but plays up with the better control, and you can see why people were drooling over Perez early in the year.

Perez seemed to slow down just before his promotion to AA with knee soreness that kept him out almost a month. He’s still not been 100 percent since coming back. The Astros can afford to be patient, however, as Perez is only 19 and will be until December, so if he makes a few more starts at AA to get his feet wet at the level and opens next season at 20 at AA, that’s still plenty ahead of the typical age curve!

29. Derek Fisher, OF, Houston Astros

Fisher was drafted in the first round of the 2014 draft from the University of Virginia. Much like there is a “Stanford swing” that former Stanford players have to work out of their system in the majors, Virginia players are coached to a certain type of swing that does take a bit of time to work out, and Fisher has seen his swing finally come around fully from that.

In the mean time, his numbers have always been solid, even with the swing getting work. He’s well on his way to his fourth straight 20/20 season, and he’s lowered his strikeout rate to under 20% while improving his contact rate significantly, allowing him to hit for productive average, and while it is in the PCL, his average is not just a product of the PCL as one can see changes in Fisher’s swing over the last three years that have really taken hold this year.

Fisher truly is ready for a big league trial at this point, but the Astros are more than full in their outfield, and while it could be argued that Fisher is better than some of the guys in the lineup currently, the argument could also be made that the Astros have the best offense in the league, so why try to fix what isn’t broken?

That could lead to Fisher being the key piece in a deal for the Astros to bring in an established arm to help their rotation. Regardless, he’s going to be ready to contribute in the second half of the season and certainly as 2018 opens.

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