Angel Perdomo Receives Big League Look

Angel Perdomo was not hyped as one of the organization’s top prospects, but Brewers manager Craig Counsell said he always expected the 6-foot-8, 265-pound lefthander to pitch in the major leagues at some point in 2020. 

“Regardless of the season we were in, he was going to impact us this year,” Counsell said. 

Perdomo, who turned 26 in May, didn’t hurt himself with a strong showing in spring training, throwing four shutout innings with 10 strikeouts. But camp was shut down in mid-March by the pandemic, leading to a roughly four-month shutdown. 

Perdomo, signed as a minor league free agent in November 2018 after seven years in the Blue Jays’ system, remained in Phoenix to throw bullpen sessions at the Brewers’ training facility. But just as players were invited to summer camp in early July, he tested positive for COVID-19. 

A “frustrated” Perdomo, who signed as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2011, missed the entire camp at Miller Park and was assigned to the alternate training site in Appleton, Wis. Finally cleared to pitch there, Perdomo made another positive impression with the way he threw the ball, finally getting summoned to the majors on Aug. 13 along with righthander Drew Rasmussen.  

“He has been (in Appleton) for three weeks and he’s done everything well,” Counsell said. “Really, it was just about getting him going and getting him ready. He made a good impression during camp in Arizona.” 

Despite a fastball in the mid 90s and a sharp-breaking slider, Perdomo never made it out of Class A with Toronto, primarily because of control issues.

The Brewers sent him to Double-A Biloxi in 2019 and he dominated hitters in seven relief outings, striking out 21 in 15.1 innings. 

Perdomo was promoted to Triple-A San Antonio, where his performance was uneven, resulting in a 5.17 ERA over 40 appearances, with 38 walks and 86 strikeouts over 54 innings.

Though the lefthander was optioned to the alternate site after three appearances on Aug. 23, the team believes he can be a factor in the bullpen.

MICROBREWS 

— Righthander Drew Rasmussen made his major league debut on Aug. 19 in Minnesota with two scoreless innings and three strikeouts. Of his 39 pitches, 22 registered at either 98 or 99 mph. 

— Catcher Payton Henry was added to the Brewers’ 60-man player pool on Aug. 19 and assigned to the alternate training site in Appleton. He joined fellow catching prospect Mario Feliciano, who was assigned there mostly for development reasons.