Earlier this week, we talked about how Yankees outfield prospect Everson Pereira has been tearing up Triple-A pitching. It’s been so impressive that the 22-year-old could force his way to the big-league roster soon.
That’s exciting, especially since New York has been struggling to get into any kind of groove after essentially standing pat at the trade deadline. One of the reasons why they didn’t acquire an outfielder, though? Reportedly, the Bombers didn’t want to block the path Pereira is currently on.
In just 27 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he’s posted a .931 OPS with 13 extra-base hits (six doubles, one triple, six home runs). Who does Pereira most remind people of, though? Randy Miller of NJ.com got the following info from Triple-A manager Shelley Duncan, as well as an anonymous scout:
“When I see Everson Pereira, it screams at me Magglio Ordonez,” Duncan said. “I played against Magglio. They’re almost identical hitters.”
Ordonez was a career .309 hitter with 294 homers and was a six-time All-Star playing 15 years in the majors from 1997-2011. One of the scouts seating behind home plate for Tuesday night’s game at PNC Field nodded in approval when hearing what Duncan had said.
“Same bat speed as Magglio,” the scout said.
That sounds like an encouraging comparison, doesn’t it? Ordóñez also won three Silver Sluggers and won the 2007 batting title with a .363 average.
If Pereira could turn into some form of that, I’m sure just about everyone associated with the Yankees would be ecstatic about it. But before that can happen, he has to get to the big leagues first. Let’s hope a promotion is imminent.
While you wait, pass the time by watching this four-hit performance he put together last month:
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
