Perdomo’s Complete Game Another Sign of Progression

As the San Diego Padres continue to battle and improve together as a unit, so do its players, individually. After a rough start as a reliever and even as a starter, Luis Perdomo pitched his best game yet this season and in his entire professional career.

The 23-year-old rookie right-hander pitched his first complete game on Sunday August 28 at Marlins Park. It was also the first complete game for the Padres this season. The last complete game for the Padres was pitched by Tyson Ross in 2015.

That particular game did not start in the Perdomo’s favor, however. He allowed a hit to five consecutive leadoff Marlin batters. Perdomo did settle down and only one run was scored off of him in the second inning.

The Padres answered back and scored two runs in the fourth and one in the sixth for a 3-1 lead. The defense and Perdomo continued to be in sync throughout the night and they managed to induce six double plays for a new club record. The previous record was five in 2014. The Marlins finished the night with just six hits off of the righty.

Perdomo (7-7) finished the night with 99 pitches and allowed one run. This gave the bullpen a much-needed rest for the night. That is the best thing of the whole night as the bullpen has been taxed all season long by their starters. Perdomo’s overall ERA is now at 5.48, lowered from 6.24. He could get his ERA under 5.00 on the season if he continues to progress.

His ERA is ugly but he has improved virtually every month. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the drop in his numbers.

He began the season with no previous major league experience and was pitching in Single-A just last year. The Rule-5 draft pick from the St. Louis Cardinals had to work his way up and with a rough start to the year, the rookie surely showed it. In April and May, he combined for 26 innings allowing 29 earned runs. There were improvements needed to be made and the struggle for the rookie continued.

For the month of August, he allowed just 12 runs and finished with a 3.24 ERA. His numbers are improving that you cannot debate. Progression is the key to this game and for a young man like himself to learn at this level and show he understands what he is being told, is huge. Take a look at his fangraphs numbers. This is his batting average and offensive numbers against him sorted by each particular pitch.

FT- Two-Seam Fastball/CU- Curveball/CH- Changeup/FA-Fastball

His style of pitching has constantly changed and it seems to be working. He mixes his pitches really well. From a four-seam fastball with an occasional splitter to change up he has an extensive repertoire. With improved movement and command on his sinker he will be difficult to hit for years to come. Looking at the chart above it comes as no surprise that his curve is striking out more batters than any other pitch.

The rookie still has a lot to learn, he is far from perfect and a finished product. However he is young and someone the Padres can work with for the long run. The future is bright San Diego fans. Patience is the key and Perdomo is definitely a pitcher to keep an eye out for. Hopefully he will stay in the starting rotation for next season, the way he is progressing there is no reason to think differently.

Jolene Nacapuy

Jolene Nacapuy is currently the media operations director of Proud Digital Media. She graduated in 2016 from the University of La Verne with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. She is a small town Hawaii native with high-energy and motivation, with experience in writing hard and breaking news, features, commentary’s and sports articles. She has written articles and taken photos for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She has served as an assistant sports editor, sports editor and editor in chief of the Campus Times and also written for HerCampus La Verne. She has also contributed for Lakers Nation and Dodgers Nation. Jolene is a big sports fan and when she’s not working on her next story, she’s at a sports event.