LAKELAND, Fla. — Franklin Perez is trying to mount another comeback.
The 24-year-old right-hander isn’t part of minor-league minicamp, but he makes daily trips to the Detroit Tigers‘ spring training facility for his rehabilitation. He underwent right shoulder surgery on May 12, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.
A key step in his return to play was visible Friday morning.
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Perez listened to instructions from Tigers physical therapist Duncan Evans at the backfields and started long tossing the baseball. He warmed up his arm and gradually stepped back, increasing his throwing distance.
After long tossing at 120 feet, Perez moved to 60 feet. This time, he replicated the throwing motion of a pitcher out of the windup, and he was throwing with more intent. (Flat-ground throwing, compared to throwing off the mound, isn’t as stressful on the elbow and shoulder.)
“I feel good,” Perez said Friday.
Back in September 2017, Perez was a top-ranked pitching prospect and considered the centerpiece in the franchise-altering Justin Verlander trade with the Houston Astros, which also included catcher Jake Rogers and outfielder Daz Cameron.
Since he was traded to the Tigers, Perez has thrown just 27 innings across nine games in the minor leagues. A series of arm injuries, primarily to his shoulder, has plagued his development. He posted a 6.52 ERA in 2018 (Gulf Coast League, High-A) and a 2.35 ERA in 2019 (High-A).
In early May 2021, the Tigers placed Perez on the injured list with a right shoulder capsule defect. He was supposed to start the season with High-A West Michigan. Roughly one week later, the righty underwent shoulder surgery.
The Tigers released Perez on May 12, the same day he had surgery, to remove him from the 40-man roster. The organization re-signed him to a minor-league contract on May 14, after he cleared unconditional release waivers.
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During last year’s spring training, Perez appeared in two games for the Tigers. He allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in 1⅔ innings. He recorded two strikeouts, but his fastball velocity sat around 89-90 mph and maxed out at 91.6 mph.
“He didn’t look particularly great the entire spring from a health standpoint,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said in May. “He was working hard. He was upbeat. His feedback was mostly positive. But when you go from a guy who was throwing in the mid- to upper-90s before to having to reinvent himself, there was a little bit of red flag that came about during the spring.”
Perez completed agility drills to end Friday’s workout.
Walking off the field, Perez smiled.
Better late than never
A handful of Tigers threw regular bullpens Friday.
The pitchers who tossed their bullpens Thursday, such as top prospects Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden and Beau Brieske, stepped into the core velocity belt, a new-school mechanism for the Tigers that many MLB teams have used for years.
Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter and director of pitching Gabe Ribas implemented the core velocity belt into the organization’s training schedule.
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This tool, featuring a harness and a kinetic training cord, helps pitchers stabilize their back leg and foot while entering the throwing motion. It’s designed to increase velocity, reduce arm stress and, most importantly, develop efficient lower-half mechanics and a repeatable delivery.
Pitchers lose energy without a stable back foot. Therefore, the key is keeping one’s weight balanced on the back foot during the process of lifting the front leg. That’s what the core velocity belt helps accomplish.
Here’s how Chicago White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon, now a free agent lined up for a lucrative contract, explained the concept in May 2021: “Biomechanically, all your energy comes through the ground, right? If you’re on your toe, you’re losing energy. The kinetic chain is broken. So the kinetic chain starts from your foot all the way up your hips, into your shoulder all the way out. Scientifically not perfectly spoken, but for laymen terms, easier for us to understand. The chain’s broken when you’re driving to home plate on your toe rather than using your whole foot.”
There are 25 MLB teams using the core velocity belt.
And the Tigers are the latest to do so.
Universal language
It has been fascinating watching the Tigers’ young catchers work.
Danuerys De La Cruz, 20, is coming off — arguably — the best season of any catcher in the Tigers’ minor league system. He hit .283 in the Florida Complex League in 2021, hitting seven home runs in 40 games.
“I have God in my heart,” he said Friday afternoon, outside the Tigers facility. “I play hard every day and I enjoy it.”
He is known for his energy and is said to call a great game but is trying to improve his receiving skills.
De La Cruz started slowly in batting practice Friday morning, struggling to find his timing and hitting several ground outs. The catchers were hitting off a pitching machine that was set up on the grass about 10 feet in front of the pitchers mound dirt.
“The ball is moving all over,” Cooper Johnson said.
Johnson, 23, was a sixth-round pick in 2019. He hit .177 in 57 games at West Michigan in 2021, hitting one home run.
Johnson hit a line drive up the middle. “Atta boy!” Chris Rabago said
Rabago, 28, has played 444 minor league games and gives the Tigers catching depth.
Then, Johnson crushed a ball.
“Oooohh!” the other catchers responded; the universal sound after a good hit.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.