Former Yankees top prospect playing best baseball of career for Angels as of late

When the Angels decided to consider themselves as contenders at the trade deadline and make a few win-now moves, the least exciting of the bunch was acquiring Oswald Peraza from the New York Yankees. However, the past week shows maybe the Halos bought low at the perfect time for the former top prospect. 

The Angels trade for Oswald Peraza was about as low risk of a move as they could have made. For the beginning of his Angels tenure, Peraza was mostly used off the bench - usually as a replacement for Yoan Moncada late in games. He continued playing as poorly as he always had for the Yankees - Peraza owned a career OPS+ of 53 in New York - and was likely a candidate to be designated for assignment when September started. 

Then, Nolan Schanuel found himself on the injured list and the Angels needed an everyday first baseman. Peraza’s calling card is defense, as he is an elite option at every position across the infield. His bat never allowed him regular opportunities to start, but the stars lined up for Peraza just as it seemed his time was running out. 

And Peraza is making the absolute most of this opportunity. 

It makes sense that a player performs better when given regular at-bats. Staying in the everyday flow of getting a handful of at-bats while not having to overly fixate on each one does wonders for a lot of players. That has been the case for Peraza, as he has capitalized on his opportunity as the Angels’ starting first baseman.

Since Nolan Schanuel went onto the injured list on August 24th, Peraza has been on an incredible hot streak given his career stats at the plate. He is hitting .300 at the plate, adding a double and a home run onto that. While this is an incredibly small sample size, Peraza gives a different element at the plate than Schanuel, driving the ball hard off of his bat when he makes contact (a 30% strikeout rate would be the downside to Peraza here).

And while Schanuel is almost assuredly going to be the Angels' starting first baseman in 2026 and beyond, this stretch from Peraza could change the outlook for the Halos' bench next season if it continues through September. While he likely won't get regular playing time at one position - although third base could be very open - he could fill the Luis Rengifo role of being a regular player and lining up all over the place defensively. Peraza's career shows he won't be able to keep this up, but September is for letting week long hot streaks allows fans to dream of what can be.

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