Samuel Perez of C.R. Kernels succeeds despite a fastball that isn’t very fast

CEDAR RAPIDS - Samuel Perez is an anomaly. An extreme anomaly.

In a pitching world fascinated and fixated on throwing fastballs in the high-90s and low-100s, the Cedar Rapids Kernels reliever can’t touch 90. Or even come that close.

The southpaw’s heater, not exactly a term that fits with him, was regularly 86 to 87 miles per hour Wednesday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium. He threw two shutout innings again and got the win as the Kernels scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk off Fort Wayne, 5-4.

Kyle DeBarge sliced an opposite-field single past first base to start an on-field celebration that included him getting dumped with a cooler full of water. Caden Kendle led off B9 with a double down the left-field line, Maddux Houghton walked, and pinch-hitter Poncho Ruiz moved them ahead with a slow chopper back to losing Fort Wayne sidearming reliever Nick Wissman.

Back to Perez, though, whose season stats now read 3-0 record wise, with two saves and an earned run average of 2.41 in 24 appearances. After a slow start to the Midwest League season, he allowed one earned run in May, none in June and just one again so far in July.

A 25-year-old from Venezuela, he said pitching in cold weather for the first time was the reason for his early struggles.

“I’d been coming here before in past years, but it was not that cold,” he said. “After I found a way to warm my hands and my body, I could find a way to get better results.”

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So how exactly does Perez get regular outs with a fastball that’s not even considered pedestrian? He has a nasty changeup, actually two of them, as the parent Minnesota Twins are teaching him a second one this season that has more depth to it.

Kernels co-pitching coach A.J. Angulo said of all of the organization’s pitchers, big leaguers included, Perez’s changeup in spring training was the most effective, posting a 44-percent swing-and-miss rate. That’s ridiculous.

“That’s my weapon, been that way my entire career,” Perez said. “But there is always a chance to improve it. Right now, I’m improving it, trying to make it a little better, make it harder for the hitters to hit.”

“It’s crazy when you see a guy who goes out there and shows more than just talent,” Angulo said. “The way he carries himself on the mound, he pitches like he’s Cy Young every time. He has the confidence to go at people, he throws strikes, knows the strike zone, and he has that really good changeup to get guys out.”

Perez originally was signed as an international free agent by the Los Angeles Angels in July 2018, was released in spring training 2021, pitched a month in the independent Frontier League, then was picked up by the Twins. Angulo said Perez’s fastball at the time of his acquisition was around 82 to 83 miles per hour, believe it or not.

A velocity increase obviously is what both the Twins and Perez desire. If he can somehow reach 90, that would make his plus changeup play up even more and give him a better chance at the higher levels.

“That has been the goal,” Angulo said. “This year, he has been 85 to 89. He is finally understanding that, yes, he has to throw harder. But the main point is to get outs, and he goes out there and gets outs.”

“Basically my job is reading the game, like watching the game,” Perez said. “Obviously they are going to look for my offspeed, so I try to get ahead with my fastball and then (the hitter’s) mind is going to change. They think ‘Oh, maybe there’s another fastball coming.’ That’s when I start throwing the offspeed.”

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