With a smile and some pop, Wenceel Perez is 'a joy to watch'

With winning comes grinning. There's no dimming the mood right now for the Tigers, especially when you mention Wenceel Perez.

"Well first, I always tell people, his smile is very infectious," said Riley Greene. "When you see it, it just makes you happy."

But no one on the Tigers could have seen this. When they summoned him from Toledo last month after an injury to Andy Ibañez, the hope was that Perez might be a temporary solution off the bench. Now he's hitting in the middle of the lineup. In the nightcap of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Cardinals, he homered from both sides of the plate. On Wednesday, he helped seal the series win by chasing down a line drive in the right center field gap in the ninth.

Sure, A.J. Hinch might have expected Perez to debut at some point this season, but to make such an immediate impact?

"Yeah, we knew it all along," Hinch joked after Wednesday's win. "Just ask us after they play well."

Through 16 games with the Tigers, Perez is hitting .298 with a .961 OPS and even starting to get some looks in center field. He was a decent prospect in the minors who was moved to the outfield after getting the yips at second base, the kind of thing that can derail a career. Perez's might be just getting started. Eight years after being signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent in the Dominican Republic, Perez is helping them win games.

"We liked him, we’ve always liked him," said Hinch. "More than anything, if I can speak for the organization, it’s being patient with development. These guys don’t often come up perfectly. His journey has not been the dominant top prospect list and seeing his name in bright lights and this anticipation for when he comes. He’s just step by step, methodically gotten a little bit better. And he still has a lot of room to get better at this level and we’re continuing to work with him, but I love how he contributes."

Of course he does: the Tigers are 8-8 when Perez plays, but 7-4 when he starts. Hinch, for the record, "had no intention, breaking camp, of hitting him in the middle of the order" this season. But as he said before Wednesday's game, "he's playing more because he’s playing better."

Hinch sat down the scuffling Spencer Torkelson and pushed Mark Canha to first bast last Sunday in order to play Perez in right. Perez hit a two-run homer in the Tigers' win over the Royals. He rested the struggling Parker Meadows on Wednesday to play Perez in center. Perez moved over to right in the ninth and made one of the defensive plays of the game.

"That’s the first inning he played in right field and now he’s at a completely different angle, but he’s fearless in going to make the play," said Hinch. "He was just gonna go until the play stopped him. If he plays careful and lets the ball get over his head because we have a lead and he doesn’t want to mess up, it’s a completely different inning. I love his carefree, freelance, fearless style of play. ... He’s a joy to watch."

Perez is cutting into his teammates' playing time, and his teammates love him. When they ribbed him for his warning track power on a fly-out to right in last Saturday's win over the Royals, Perez responded by doing pushups in the clubhouse -- and again when he went home that night. The next day, he launched a hanging changeup over the right-field fence.

"He’s a good player, a very good player," said Greene, the best player on the team. "He can hit, from both sides of the plate, and he can play the field. He’s kind of that all-around player that you look for."

"My favorite is the way he goes about his business," said Matt Vierling. "He’s so happy, a smiling, genuine person. He’s not intimidated by the moment, it’s awesome. It’s really cool to see him do his thing."

The left-handed pull power is one thing. Perez, 24, is talented with the bat. But when he turned around and unleashed some opposite-field power by drilling a sinker over the right-center field fence on Tuesday -- before cranking another left-handed moonshot down the right-field line -- "that was a sight to see," said Hinch. And one to ponder: Maybe there's even more in his bat than anyone knew.

"It feels unbelievable," Perez said on the field that night, grinning from ear to ear. ... Trying to be patient, trying to have fun as much as I can. I’m thankful I’m here."

The Tigers kept Perez around when Ibañez returned this week, sending down infielder Buddy Kennedy instead. A no-brainer, really. And when Gio Urshela returns from an injury of his own in the next week or so, the Tigers would be hard-pressed to send Perez back to Toledo. The odd man out might be Meadows, who's been mired in a season-long funk at the plate. It doesn't feel like a coincidence that the Tigers have started to play Perez in center.

"He’s creating opportunity for himself by the quality of at-bats and the energy that he’s providing," said Hinch. "Still youthful, but the spark has been nice, the switch hitter in the middle of the order is a luxury for me when we're building lineups, and I’m going to reward him with playing time. Maybe not every single day because he’s a weapon off the bench, too -- but I like hot streaks just like everybody else."

The Tigers are warming up themselves, having won four straight series entering a weekend test against the Yankees. Perez has played a key role in each one. We'll see how long this lasts, but the Tigers are going to ride it for as long as they can. When he trots onto the field for the first time at Yankee Stadium, Wenceel Perez won't be afraid.

"When he comes to the ballpark," said Hinch, "I want to play him in wins."