Salvador Perez considered best player on KC Royals’ roster in 2021
Salvador Perez is the KC Royals’ best player in 2021, which isn’t a shock.
The 2021 season hasn’t gotten underway yet for the Kansas City Royals, but when asked to predict who the best player will be heading into the season, most would choose Salvador Perez. The 30-year-old catcher came back strong in 2020 after missing all of 2019 due to injury and Royals fans expect to see that same Salvy again this year.
Will Leitch of MLB.com listed the best player from every team in 2021 and of course he picked Perez. Here was his reasoning (not that we really need it):
"He was an absolute monster down the stretch last year. A full season could bring him back to All-Star level … or even higher."
Perez finished the shortened 2020 season with a slash line of .333/.353/.633 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI through 156 plate appearances. Yes, the fact that 2020 was a shortened season needs to be mentioned, but Perez performed as well as he could have considering the circumstances.
The Royals have a few catching prospects but if Perez continues to play this well, it’ll be hard to move on from him any time soon and an extension wouldn’t be out of the question at all. With Dayton Moore clearly showing he believes in this team, trading Perez isn’t going to happen.
Salvador Perez is only getting better for the KC Royals.
If Perez wasn’t the pick for the Royals here, then it would have likely been Whit Merrifield, who slashed .282/.325/.440 with nine home runs and 30 RBI in 265 plate appearances. His numbers are pretty similar to that of Perez’s and he did so in a lot more work than Perez did. Merrifield also is versatile and plays all around the diamond, making him important to this Royals team.
Even with all of this in mind, Perez has been one of the Royals’ best players since he made his MLB debut in 2011. Not having him in 2019 probably cost the Royals a few wins that year simply because of what the guy provides defensively and it was good to have him back in 2020. Hopefully, the 2021 season is yet another All-Star season (assuming an All-Star Game is held) for Perez and he has one of his best years yet.
Must Read. Top Ten Catchers in Team History. light
What do you think, Royals fans? Would you consider Salvador Perez to be the best player on the Royals’ roster or would you go with Merrifield or someone else?