If fans have forgotten about Franklin Perez, it’s difficult to blame them. Perez was once the prize prospect in the trade that sent Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros late August 2017. Since then, Perez has thrown exactly 27 innings of baseball; battling shoulder injuries that have kept him off the mound.
Between his lack of innings, the emergence of other prospects, and his disappearance off many of the popular prospect lists he once appeared high on, Perez has become an afterthought in the context of players that figure to make an impact for Detroit in the near future.