Triple-A Rochester manager Matt LeCroy summoned Luis Perales to his office after Tuesday’s loss to Buffalo with a question for the young right-hander: Who’s the toughest hitter Perales faced in Triple-A?
Perales stared back, stupefied. He felt he hadn’t struggled with any Triple-A hitters, and his 3.64 ERA over 25 games backs up that assertion. He told his skipper, “No one. I haven’t faced anyone that I’ve struggled with.” LeCroy said, “It’s me.”
Perales became more perplexed after hearing that response, considering he had never — nor would he ever — face his manager.
“Then he was like, ‘Yeah, exactly, because you’re going to D.C.,” Perales said before the Nationals’ 13-1 loss against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. “And, for me, it was kind of shocking. I stood in silence for like five minutes and was just really happy after that.”
But Perales had a humbling experience against the Rockies, who tagged the right-hander for four runs over two innings. The Rockies’ lineup is devoid of star power. It was a good early lesson for the right-hander about the difference in difficulty between the majors and Triple-A.
In Wednesday’s loss to the Rockies, Perales — who was acquired from Boston in the Jake Bennett trade — fell behind in the count constantly and struggled throwing strikes (51% of his pitches were strikes).
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Things unraveled for Perales in the seventh. He allowed back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases with one out. He overpowered Mickey Moniak, striking him out on three pitches, but allowed a grand slam to Connor Norby on a 94.3 mph cutter in the zone that sucked the life out of an already listless crowd at Nationals Park. After Perales allowed a single in the next at-bat, manager Blake Butera removed him.
“I did what I could,” Perlaes. “At the end of the day, I just want to get out of that inning, and I couldn’t.”
The tantalizing nature of his right arm assuages concerns of the high walk rate. Perales’ upside is immense and worth a shot for a pitching-bereft Nationals team.
Skepticism about the deal ensued after Bennett flourished in Boston. But the rationale from Washington’s perspective was that it was adding a hard-throwing righty with a high ceiling.
Perales underwent Tommy John elbow surgery in 2024 and pitched just six games in 2025. He also started six games in the Arizona Fall League. Experiencing that setback proved beneficial for him in learning how to take care of his body.
“The most important thing was strengthening the arm — that was my main focus and what I learned the most,” he said. “Right now, in the role of a reliever, things the same, but it’s just taking care more of the recovery side.”
The recovery aspect will be important. Perales started 19 games this season but transitioned to the bullpen to give the big league team a powerful arm. His fastball sat at 98.5 mph in the minors. The organization isn’t ruling out a future as a starter, but in the short term the Nationals view this move as best for the team and for Perales.
When he entered in the fifth, it was the first time this season, Perales said, that he came into a game with a runner on base and one out. The young righty had to face Willi Castro, with Moniak due up behind him. Perales fell behind Castro 3-0 before he landed his first strike, but the at-bat ended in a walk.
He got ahead 0-2 before Moniak evened the count by taking two balls. Moniak stayed alive by fouling off two four-seamers before Perales struck him out swinging with an 89.9 mph splitter at the bottom of the strike zone for his first major league strikeout.
Perales was tantalizing, but he needs to limit the walks and be more in the zone — 40% of his pitches were in the zone. His fastball sat at 99.6 mph Wednesday, but he struggled locating it for strikes. He said pregame that the plan was for him to lean more into his splitter.
Butera said he’d like to see Perales “attack a bit more with the fastball.”
“That’s something we’re gonna sit down and talk with him about in terms of what he was thinking and just make sure we’re thinking along with him in terms of how he wants to attack and what his mindset should look like,” Butera said.
Now that he’s a major league reliever, Perales has to be prepared to navigate situations with traffic on the bases.
That makes it even more pertinent that he is more aggressive earlier in counts. The rocky start didn’t deter Perales, who knows he’s going to get the ball again. Next time, he just has to execute.
“I feel really good, and happy, to be here. One inning isn’t gonna define the type of pitcher I am,” he said. “Just gotta keep working hard.”
This article has been updated.
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