- Martín Pérez was one of the most outstanding pitchers in the last month of the Major League campaign
The first two months of the 2022 Major League Baseball season are over, meaning about a third of the season has been played.
Venezuelan Representation
82 Creole players have played at least one game during the 2022 season. The last Venezuelan to debut was Jermaine Palacios with the Cleveland Guardians. Palacios was the rookie of the year in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP).
Several Venezuelans such as Martín Pérez, Pablo López, Luis Arráez have stood out in the Majors with their respective teams and lead several Major League Baseball (MLB) departments this year.
There have been about 50 games of the season and the pitching has been dominant in this first half, although the batters usually improve their numbers at the beginning of the second half.
Martin Perez
One of the most outstanding pitchers in the last month has been the Venezuelan right-hander Martín Pérez, of the Texas Rangers.
The 31-year-old pitcher led the major league ERA department at 0.64. He only allowed 3 earned runs, 29 hits and 9 walks in 42.1 innings of work.
It’s the lowest ERA by any American League pitcher in a month with 40 or more innings since Johan Santana posted a 0.45 ERA in September 2004 with the Minnesota Twins.
In his six starts in May he did not receive a home run. He is the only pitcher in MLB who has not hit a home run this season. The batters had a collective average of .195 and an on-base percentage of .241 against the criollo, one of the lowest in the month.
Pérez is the leader in ERA (1.42), complete games (1), and in the WAR sabermetric statistic (Wins Above Replacement) con 2.8.
Pérez is in his 11th season in the Major Leagues. This is his second time that he pitches with the Texas Rangers after he was with that franchise from 2012 to 2018. This 2022 he only has a contract for one year and four million dollars.
Luis Arraez
Luis Arráez continues to stand out with the Minnesota Twins after he was one of the most outstanding in April. The Venezuelan is one of the leaders in batting average and on-base percentage.
The infielder Creole had an average of .372, with 32 hits, 3 doubles and 11 walks in 82 at-bats. With his numbers in the first two months, he ranks fifth among the batting average leaders. Plus, he leads the department in on-base percentage with .442.
The Creole is in third place on the list of players with the average number of turns without striking out. Arráez, 25, has 9.9 at-bats without strikeouts, while José Ramírez is in first place with 11.4.
Luis Arráez also stood out with his bat in the first month of the season. The Venezuelan second baseman had 20 hits in 70 at-bats, 2 doubles and a home run for an average of .317. Additionally, he drove in 7 runs, scored 6 and finished with a .386 OBP.
The 25-year-old is in his fourth year in the Major Leagues. In that time he has been characterized by his batting average, ability to connect hits and not strike out. In addition, the second baseman has a contract until 2026 with the Minnesota Twins.
Paul Lopez
Pablo López is another of the Venezuelan pitchers who continues to show a great repertoire at the start of the season. Though he’s downgraded from last month, he’s still among the best in ERA and strikeouts per game.
In May, the Venezuelan right-hander posted one win and two losses, posting a 2.78 ERA. He gave up five home runs and allowed 11 runs in 35.2 innings. In addition, the Creole struck out 85 batters and was ranked sixth among the pitchers with the most strikeouts.
Lopez is the ERA leader in the National League with 1.84 so far this season. He is the 10th pitcher in MLB with the fewest hits allowed per nine innings at 6.55.
Data: Venezuelan pitchers, effectiveness leaders
This is one of the first times in the Major Leagues that two Creole pitchers are in first place in the ERA department in both the National League and the American League.
In April, Pablo López was selected as MLB’s pitcher of the month thanks to his three wins and no losses. The 26-year-old Lopez made four starts and pitched 23 1/3 innings in which he allowed just one run, four walks, 13 hits and fanned 23 batters for a 0.39 ERA.
The player born in Cabimas, Zulia state, is in his fifth year in the Major Leagues, all with the Miami Marlins team. In none of his previous seasons has he had more than five wins, so this campaign will have the opportunity to break his records in various departments.
