Oswald Peraza Shows Shortstop Skill

When big league infield coach Carlos Mendoza spent time at the Yankees’ minor league camp the past couple of winters, one fellow Venezuela native really stood out: teenage shortstop Oswald Peraza.

“He has the ability to slow the game down and read swings at an early age,’’ Mendoza said of the 6-foot, 176-pound Peraza, who signed in 2016 and has since gained 11 pounds. “He has good hands and a good arm.’’

Peraza turns 19 in June and is coming off a modest season at Rookie-level Pulaski in which he hit .250/.333/..321 with one home run in 36 games.

“His bat-to-ball skills are good at that age, and he has some impact,’’ Mendoza said.

Adding to the skill set, Peraza swiped eight bases in nine attempts in the Appalachian League. He has gone 21-for-24 in two pro seasons.

After sharing the Pulaski shortstop job with 22-year-old collegian Max Burt, Peraza might open this season in extended spring training before jumping to short-season Staten Island in June.

“He is an interesting guy,” vice president of baseball operations Tim Naehring said. “He has a nice tool set across the board and projects as a guy who stays at shortstop down the road as an above-average defender.

“A lot of our (scouts) went in really impressed with his baseball instincts and intellect. For the most part he handled himself pretty well at (Pulaski).’’

YANKEE DOODLES

—Righthander Michael King arrived to big league camp with a stress reaction in the right elbow and was shut down. Before the problem surfaced he was in a group of starters being counted on for depth at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He went 11-5, 1.79 at three levels a year ago.