The Royals signed Jhonny Perdomo as an international free agent back in July 2019. He offers good contact ability from the right side. Since joining the organization out of the Dominican Republic he’s played two seasons in the Dominican Summer League, and finally made his way stateside in 2023. He would’ve made his way to Surprise a year earlier had the lost 2020 season not slowed his progression. He’s shown a consistent ability to hit for average while impacting the game on the basepaths. The power has been limited, but there may be a slight margin for improvement as he continues to develop.

Season Stats:

2021 (DSL): .256/.357/.364, 10.0% BB%, 17.9% K%, 109 wRC+

2022 (DSL): .306/.411/.381, 10.9% BB%, 17.1% K%, 125 wRC+

2023 (CPX): .336/.381/.455, 6.1% BB%, 19.6% K%, 110 wRC+

Perdomo has hit for good average in two consecutive seasons and has been an above-average hitter throughout his short professional career. The power output has been limited, with an ISO of around .100 in both seasons in the Dominican. 2023 saw a slight uptick in that department, as Perdomo slugged .455 and finished the year with an ISO at .119. That uptick, however, wasn’t due to the home run ball. He uses a compact swing with good bat speed to create good line drive power.

The 5-10 frame will make it difficult for Perdomo to grow into any sort of prodigious power, but there’s a percentage chance he could eventually go for 10-15 homers per season. Much of his success comes from the pull side and Perdomo struggles to cover the outside half of the plate. This is especially true against spin. When he does make contact on the outside, it’s often resulted in weak contact but there were small improvements in 2023 in that regard.

Scouting Grades:

Hit: 40/55

Game Power: 30/40

Raw Power: 30/45

Speed: 60/60

Glove: 45/55

Arm: 40/45

Best Case Scenario

If the contact ability continues throughout the upper minors, there’s a solid floor for Perdomo. He has great speed that can impact the game enough on the basepaths to make him a sound bench bat. The problem with that, however, is the lack of defensive flexibility. Perdomo seems destined to stick at second base and will need the bat to carry enough value to make him a big leaguer. If he can continue to develop his approach and batted ball skills, he’s a similar mold of player to former Royals prospect Christian Colón.

Worst Case Scenario

Perdomo is 21 and has yet to debut above the Complex League. The floor is rather low until we see how the batted ball skills will play against stiffer competition. 2024 should give us our first glimpse of how he might fare as Perdomo makes his way to Low-A Columbia for the first time. The chance he develops into lower-level organizational depth is just as likely as him developing into any sort of big leaguer.

Image credit: Prospects Worldwide