Atlanta Braves Discussion Board: What to do with Jose Peraza?

Atlanta Braves Jose Peraza…

…has quickly recovered from his slow start and is doing what he has always done: tons of hits, tons of stolen bases. However, while his defense is considered elite at 2nd base, his glove is slumping a bit early on. Honestly, I’m not concerned with his glove, but it’s at least worth mentioning if we’re going to have an unbiased look at his skills to date.

Peraza unlike in the past, has shown increased patience, something that I’m sure the Braves wanted to see him develop before bringing him up to the Major Leagues.  He has 7 walks in 120 plate appearances this year compared to 17 total walks last season in 499 plate appearances. Here is is slash line thus far, which, as I remind you, has a horrid start to the season factored in:

.311/.351/.358  1 double, 2 triples, 11 stolen bases (1cs)

His stat-line will likely only continue to improve if past performance is any measure, but it looks like Peraza is almost ready for the show.  Obviously, the Braves don’t have to promote Jose Peraza this year, but it’s never been the Braves style to hold players back when they are seemingly ready for the next level. So the bigger question lies in the title…

What do the Atlanta Braves do with Jose Peraza?

There are a lot of factors here:

1. No clear position to get regular playing time.

2. If Braves aren’t going to compete, should they waste one year of Peraza for what could be a lost season?

3. What would the Braves do with other players should Peraza get promoted?

4. Rumor was Yankees were interested in him. Do Braves sell high and get an OFer?

Here’s where you guys come in!!!!

What’s your opinion on the matter?  Take all the information in, from personnel perspective, from the organization’s perspective, and let’s get to the nitty-gritty of this decision.  It’s the 2nd week of May and June is just around the corner (in case you missed it, Braves beatwriter predicted Peraza would be up by June), so the time is nearing.

What should the Braves do?

I’ll leave you with the Peraza’s latest scouting report from Keith Law whom I disagree with on many rankings, but feel like he described Peraza well:

"“Peraza is a natural shortstop, but the presence of defensive wizard Andrelton Simmons in the major league lineup has led Atlanta to try Peraza at second base, where he should be a 65 or 70 defender and half of a historically great middle-infield tandem when he gets settled in the majors. At the plate, he has a very compact, direct swing that produces line-drive contact without power. He’s a 70 runner, albeit from the right side, enough to have high impact on the bases but not enough to give him Billy Hamilton-type value from pushing bunts toward third base. He’s not a patient hitter since his hand-eye coordination and short stroke mean he can square up almost anything in the zone. As long as he’s hitting .330, that trick works, but Howie Kendrick, who hit .360 in his minor league career, can testify to how that skill doesn’t always translate to the majors if you don’t work the count.Peraza has a very high floor, as Kendrick did, thanks to his speed, defense and ability to make contact. He could become an impact leadoff guy if he can work himself into 20-30 more walks a year.”"

Who’s going to kick off this discussion?