Los Angeles Angels Carlos Perez in Sophomore Slump?

The Los Angeles Angels catcher situation took a deep and hit when veteran, Geovany Soto went down. it is now up too Carlos Perez to step it up behind the plate.

Los Angeles Angels were counting on Carlos Perez to be their every day catcher going into 2016.  Perez was the catcher who hit a walk-off home run in his Major League debut last season. He also unseated veteran Chris Iannetta as the every day catcher just after the All-Star break. Perez delivered solid defense and performed decently well at the plate batting .270 with two home runs and 10 RBI’s after taking over full-time for Iannetta.

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When the Angels decided not to re-sign Iannetta they handed the keys to catching spot to Perez.  However, Angels general manager Billy Eppler decided to sign veteran Geovany Soto to back-up Perez up, but also to be able to step in if Perez faltered.

At the end of the 2015 season Perez finished .250 BA, 4 HR and 21 RBI’s in only 260 at-bats. Pretty impressive for a rookie slammed into the middle of a season with a team in the running for the wild card. What was even more impressive was Perez’s September numbers where he batted .377 with one home run and three RBI’s.

So far this season we have only seen a fraction of that impressiveness.

The first part of the season has been a real struggle for the young catcher as Perez was batting .149 on May 12th with no home runs and four RBI’s. Geovany Soto started to get more and more time and almost seemed to unseat Perez as the number one catcher.  Soto started six of the last seven games he played in before the injury.

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Soto always has been known for defense, but was suddenly showing some offense was batting .298 with three HR’s and 7 RBI’s the but a freak knee injury the next day during pre-game warm ups left the veteran on the DL.

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So again the every day catching jo went back to Perez and he has responded was finally able to break his season-long slump. Over the past two weeks Perez is hitting .271 with two home runs and nine RBI’s  over the past two weeks.

During the a recent game against the Orioles Perez had a career day, going 3-for-5 with a home run and 5 RBI’s. Now seeing regular playing time, Perez has raised his average t .204 that is by far a small feat, but there is plenty of baseball. If the improvement with his swing keeps on coming, the Los Angeles Angels might finally have the catcher they were counting on coming into 2016.

Perez’s defensive prowess is amazing for only being a second-year player and has much to learn. Predictions for the Los Angeles Angels catcher are only positive results.

Next: Will Jett Bandy be able to fill Soto's shoes?

Perez, is no Yadier Molina, but he is more than capable with a bat in his hands and could provide a productive bat within a lackluster lineup.