Fantasy Baseball Prospect Watch: Eury Perez Promotion Looming

After undergoing internal brace surgery in April, Marlins flamethrower Eury Perez is flashing elite velocity and strikeout stuff again at AAA—offering tantalizing fantasy upside if his arm holds up.

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Eury Perez (39) delivers a pitch against the New York Mets during the first inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Miami Marlins hooked a gem with the signing of Perez out of the Dominican Republic. His minor league career started at age 17 in 2021. Over 78.0 innings at A and High A, he posted a 1.96 ERA and 108 strikeouts.

Eury Perez Injury History

The following season, a lat injury cost him about five weeks of development at AA. When on the mound, Perez pitched at a high level over his first 61.2 innings with a 2.92 ERA, 0.908 WHIP, .188 BAA, and 87 strikeouts. 

He tripped up over his next three appearances (13 runs, 27 baserunners, and three home runs over 11.0 innings with 15 strikeouts), leading to a trip to the injured list. His season ended with four shutout innings with eight strikeouts.

Perez shined over his first six starts (2.32 ERA, 0.806 WHIP, .148 BAA, and 42 strikeouts) in 2023 at AA before getting his call-up to the majors. Other than a disastrous game on July 1st (six runs and seven baserunners over one-third of an inning), he handled himself well over 11 matchups in the majors (2.36 ERA, 1.088 WHIP, .208 BAA, and 61 strikeouts over 53.1 innings). 

Miami shut him down around the All-Star break for three weeks to conserve innings. Unfortunately, Perez ran out of gas over his 10 appearances between AA and the majors (4.74 ERA, eight home runs, 59 strikeouts over 43.2 innings).

His average fastball (97.5) was one of the best in the game in velocity. Batters struggled to hit his slider (.200 BAA), curveball (.114 BAA), and changeup (.103 BAA). Perez had the most struggles with his four-seamer (.287 BAA and 12 home runs over 181 at-bats).

Before the start of the 2024 season, Perez developed a finger injury early in spring training, followed by a mid-March right elbow issue that led to TJ surgery (internal brace) on April 8th.

Eury Perez In 2025

Over the last three and a half weeks, Perez has made five appearances at A-ball, leading to a 1.80 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts over 10.0 innings. His four-seam fastball is back over 97.0 mph, featuring his slider and curveball as similar secondary pitches. He also mixes in a changeup and added a show-me sinker.

Things you love to see: Eury Pérez back dealing on the mound 🥰

Four strong innings (@GoHammerheads) for the @Marlins rehabbing fireballer: pic.twitter.com/zftvkQJopK

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 17, 2025

Perez turned 22 in mid-April while already offering beast upside, along with an edge in size (6’8” and 220 lbs.). The Marlins promoted him to AAA this week, and his first start is scheduled for Thursday (5/22). In his last outing, he allowed one run and three hits over four innings while upping throwing 49 pitches. 

Miami won’t push his arm too hard this year, suggesting many games with only five innings of work. Perez already has proven success in the majors (3.15 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 108 strikeouts over 91.1 innings in 2023 at age 20), so the Marlins will promote him once he shows success and length to his outings at AAA.

Comparing Eury Perez To Spencer Strider And Matt Brash

Spencer Strider (4/12/2024) and Matt Brash (5/8/2024) also went the internal brace path to correct their elbow injuries. 

The Braves didn’t give Strider his first start in the majors this year until April 16th (two runs, six baserunners, and five strikeouts over five innings), but he missed the subsequent 33 days with a hamstring injury. His arm did look sharp over three appearances at AAA (two runs, 10 baserunners, and 27 strikeouts over 13.2 innings). His fastball (95.8) remains below his 2024 season (97.4 mph).

Brash returned to the majors within a year. He’s yet to allow a run over 4.2 innings with five baserunners and six strikeouts. His sinker (96.2 mph) remains below his peak in 2023 (98.6 mph). 

The fantasy market can use these examples to help understand future arms having internal brace surgery over TJ surgery. The key is if/when they regain this previous velocity. At the same time, what is the time frame for trusting their arm in the fantasy market? In the past, a pitcher with TJ surgery almost needed 18 months of recovery to regain his previous form. Perez, Strider, and Brash beat that timetable, but they can’t be judged as successes until we see their final stats this season.