Cardinals instructs features first-rounders, young hurlers

The Cardinals took a chance when they decided to take Puerto Rican high school shortstop Delvin Perez with their first pick in the 2016 Draft, No. 23 overall. Yes, he was a top-notch talent, one who could have been a top 10 pick. But the news that came out pre-Draft about a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs put a huge question mark next to his name.

The Cardinals obviously answered that question enough to feel good about taking Perez and they’ve felt even better about the decision based on how he’s handled things since joining the organization.

“Once a player comes here, we work with everybody, regarding what our expectations are,” Cardinals farm director Gary LaRocque said. “They’re professionals now, we want to treat them that way. They also have the expectaions and responsibilities that go along with it. He got to sit down several times in our evaluation process. He was extremely positive about it.”

Perez also performed well on the field during his pro debut, hitting .294/.352/.393 with 12 steals on a club that won the Gulf Coast League title. There had been some concern about how a lack of strength might impact him as he made the transition to the pro game, especially since he’s still just 17, but that’s not what the Cardinals saw at all.

“He didn’t have any problem handling the pitching here,” LaRocque said of the GCL. “He has very strong hands, strong through the zone. As for general strength, we fully expect them to need that at their age. He’s a good athlete. He wants the big at-bats, he wants the plays at shortstop, all great qualities. He needs time and at-bats and that’s exactly what he’s going to get.”

Perez also got a lot of individual instruction during the Cardinals’ instructional league camp, which concluded last week. It was set to run to the end of the week, but the decision was made to cut things short a few days early in advance of Hurricane Matthew. Still, Perez got in some invaluable work, not just with instructor Jose Oquendo, but with the exciting stable of young shortstops in the system, including Edmundo Sosa, who was rehabbing his hand, and Allen Cordoba.

“He handled it very well, the changes, the adjustments,” LaRocque said. “He was very open-minded to all the work being done. It was very encouraging to see all the shortstops we have that were here. That’s a good group for him to see, watch and work with, not to mention with …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com