Salvador Perez DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (eye) has bruising below his eye but is "all good" and set to return to the starting nine on Friday. Perez exited Wednesday's contest early due to the laceration. However, the veteran backstop avoided a significant injury and will not miss any time. The 34-year-old was also able to practice on Thursday. Last season, Perez posted a .271/.330/.456 slash line with 27 long balls. He generated an elite .360 xwOBA and a .522 xSLG which placed him in the 92nd and 95th percentile respectively. He also generated an above-average 12.2 percent barrel rate and a 44.8 percent ard-hit rate. Fantasy managers should expect Perez to serve as the everyday catcher in the Kansas City and will see occasional starts at first base. He is a strong target when looking for RBI behind the dish as he will bat behind Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Jonathan India.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (eye) left Wednesday's Cactus League game early against the Seattle Mariners due to a laceration under his left eye, the team announced. Perez will continue to be monitored by the Royals. We should have an update on Perez's injury and potentially how much time he'll be forced to miss in camp by Thursday. The fact that it's just described as a laceration, though, leads us to believed that he'll be fine by Opening Day later this month. Although he's now 34 years old, he's still considered a top-five fantasy catcher at RotoBaller after he made his ninth All-Star team in 2024 and slashed .271/.330/.456 with 27 home runs, 104 RBI and 58 runs scored in 158 games in his 13th big-league season. Perez has managed 20-plus homers in each of his last eight full seasons. Regression is coming eventually, but the fact that he also has first base eligibility boosts his fantasy value.

Kansas City Royals Catcher Salvador Perez had a monster performance in Game 2 of Monday's doubleheader 9-4 win against the Cleveland Guardians. He went 2-for-4 with two homers, six RBI, and a walk. Perez is slashing .282/.341/.494 with 26 homers and 94 RBI across 129 games (478 at-bats) this season. His RBI total ranks sixth in the American League. The 34-year-old, playing in his 13th season with the Royals, is having a stellar year and will hopefully continue to lead this time down the stretch.