Top prospect Perdomo faithfully climbing Diamondbacks ranks

Geneva, IL – The road from the Dominican Republic to the Kane County Cougars hasn’t been an easy one for 19-year-old shortstop Geraldo Perdomo.

At almost 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, he appears similar to the Astros’ Carlos Correa. The braces that adorn his smile are a reminder that Perdomo is still a teenager, however. The turmoil he’s dealt with away from the field could have derailed his dream.

Perdomo, who is the sixth-ranked prospect in the Diamondbacks organization by MLB Pipeline, began his professional path last year with an assignment to a rookie league team in the Arizona League. He then moved to Montana to join the Missoula Osprey in the Pioneer League.

From Arizona to Montana to Oregon, Perdomo has performed well on the field with personal conflict in the background. His parents separated soon after he moved to the United States to pursue his dream.

“It was a tough year,” Perdomo said. “My parents were always together in my life growing up, so (their separation) was really difficult. I tried to keep my mind right and tried to make them proud of me working hard here in the States.”

Perdomo collected 68 hits, scored 43 times and stole 24 bases in 57 games in his three stops last year. His .897 OPS as an 18-year-old were enough to earn him another promotion for the 2019 season.

Even with strong numbers, Perdomo was surprised he was promoted as quickly as he was last year.

“Organizations usually try to keep their young players moving up step by step to make sure their development is right,” he said. “I’m proud they moved me up so quick. I hope they keep doing it. I’m going to try to do my job well to make it easy for them. They gave me the opportunity to be here. At my age lots of players are a level down so I’m proud that I’m up here.”

Finding food that reminded him of home was nearly impossible in Montana and Oregon. Food was one of the comforts Perdomo found the same when he returned home after a long first season in professional ball.

Other important parts of his home life had changed.

“As soon as I got home, I went to my mom and gave her a big hug,” he said. “The first thing I ate was fried plantains and chicken. After that I spent a couple weeks with her and then moved over with my dad to keep my word and focus on baseball.”

Moving Up

When Perdomo returned to the United States for the 2019 season he was in yet another city. He moved up to full-season Class A Kane County, a little more than an hour’s drive west of downtown Chicago.

Entering the facility Perdomo is greeted by images of former Cougars such as Nelson Cruz, Miguel Cabrera and Willson Contreras. Banners commemorate past Midwest League championships and Cougars who have become major league stars.

His family situation in the Dominican Republic isn’t settled, but he speaks with his family daily on WhatsApp. His parents give him advice daily on those calls, he says.

The Cougars play in a market that has a strong Latino fan base. Kane County, in conjunction with the Diamondbacks, offers players English classes each homestand. These classes, along with conversations with bilingual teammates, have helped him feel more at ease.

“He’s learning through our teacher and through his teammates who speak both languages,” said pitcher Jose Cuas, a Dominican Republic native who attended the University of Maryland. “He asks how to say things, and speaks to us in English so he can hear it more and respond in English. Between the teacher and teammates and staff he’s learning a lot.”

Faith has also been an integral part of Perdomo’s development off the field. He listens to Christian music before games and noted that reading the Bible daily has helped him through tough times.

“It reminds me of the tough parts of my life that I’ve been through and focuses me what I’m doing here now,” he said.

Featured Image: Brad Repplinger – Kane County Cougars

Inset Image 1: La Vida Baseball

Inset Image 2: Katherine Vasile – Kane County Cougars