By a few measures, Detroit Tigers outfielder Wenceel Pérez has been the team’s least valuable player so far in 2026, with minus-1 FanGraphs WAR in 41 games played.
He was arguably the team’s best player in its most recent loss, showing flashes in the three-game home series of what made him such a versatile part of a winning roster in 2024 and 2025.
Batting eighth in the lineup, Pérez finished 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and a walk in his best game at the plate this season. His seven total bases tied a single-game career-high, matching a game from June 17, 2025, where he hit a home run and a triple in a 7-3 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
According to Pérez, it’s only natural that games like this give him confidence going forward.
“I’ve been trying to arrive to a point where I feel good at the plate and working towards where I can hit the ball with the most damage, and I felt good today,” he said.
With a home run in Tuesday’s loss to the Angels adding to his tally, Pérez OPS jumped from a miserable .455 entering the series to a less-miserable (but still below league average) .543 in just three games. It’s easier for players to experience 88-point leaps when their OPS starts out so low, of course, but considering Pérez has gotten at least four plate appearances in each of the last six games, his upward trend as a starter is potentially great news for the Tigers.
“He’s one that has generally has always been a good bat-to-ball guy,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. “When you start getting your back up against the wall, whenever you are struggling or your numbers are down, you’re gonna end up trying to do a little bit too much, or trying to swing at too many pitches and not control the strike zone.”
That wasn’t a problem for Pérez against the Angels. Getting at-bats from both sides of the plate, the switch hitter recorded a walk in all three games and didn’t strike out once, his first three-game stretch without a strikeout since late April. And when the good pitches came his way, he did the damage he was looking to create, like with his solo home run on Tuesday or the solo home run that gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead on Thursday.
Hitting the ball hard doesn’t automatically bring results, as third baseman Colt Keith proved on Thursday. Two of the four hardest-hit balls of the day came from Keith, with both of his line drives registering at least 102 mph off the bat and both landing in the glove of center fielder Mike Trout.
But for Pérez, his hard contact on Thursday demonstrated exactly what he needs to do in the big leagues.
“The right-handed pull-homer, the left-handed pull-homer … they were both good pitches to hit and he didn’t miss them,” said Hinch. “When you get pitches at this level, no matter where you hit in the order, you finish them.”
The likelihood of Pérez staying on the roster once injured outfielder Kerry Carpenter returns might be slim, especially if his outfield defense continues to be a liability. But if Pérez keeps on taking patient at-bats and doing damage on hittable pitches, especially from the right side of the plate where the Tigers need production, he could make a case to stay up in the big leagues.
But for now, Pérez is going to focus on improving what he can control.
“I’m going to do what I can for the team, stay healthy as best I can and continue to work at what I can get better at,” he said.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers takeaways: Is Wenceel Pérez starting a heater?
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
