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Closing Time: Hernan Perez makes his move

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

Hernan Perez has never been a hot name in fantasy baseball, a pedigree prospect. But last year he gave us a waiver-value season from out of nowhere, and a working-class hero is something to be.

And maybe the story will have some portability in 2017.

Backtrack to last summer; Perez, at 25, became a jack-of-all-trades for the Brewers. He played every position but pitcher and catcher, and became an everyday player in the second half. Check those stats after the All-Star break: .281, 39 runs, 9 homers, 37 RBIs, 24 steals. He was the No. 21 batter in 5×5 value for the second half.

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Perez entered the fresh season without a dedicated position; the idea is to move him around the diamond. He’s started 11 games, he’s been benched for 11 games. He’s logged some time at short and third, a few starts at center, a few starts at right. Sometimes he plays against lefties, sometimes he plays against righties. Sometimes he doesn’t play at all.

The last two days, the Reds have felt Perez’s wrath. He’s collected five extra hits — two homers, two triples and a double — along with a walk and stolen base. Perez has five runs over this binge, seven RBIs. After a slow start, he’s back up to .261/.346/.609.

Perez is my kind of player. He qualifies at second, third, and the outfield, and he’ll add shortstop eligibility soon enough. Milwaukee’s been one of the best offensive stories through three weeks — first in homers, third in runs — but Perez can secure a regular position if almost anyone in the lineup gets hurt or falls into a major slump.

I’ve added some Perez shares in recent days, feeling his plausible upside is higher than some players who currently hold safer playing time. Memories of last year’s second-half bonanza are fresh in my mind. Five-category contributors are rare commodities, indeed.

If you feel like a speculation play, Perez is waiting for a call in 81 percent of Yahoo leagues. He’s behind names like Devon Travis, Byron Buxton, Greg Bird, and Josh Bell. I can’t make the add and drop for you. If you want to be a hero, just follow me.

• The Dodgers aren’t messing around with their 10-11 start. The future is now. Young uber-prospects are going to get a chance to play, future financial ramifications be damned.

Teenage lefty Julio Urias is set to start Thursday against the Giants, and he’s expected to stay in the rotation, no matter the result. Urias had some ups and downs as a rookie last year, but the final line was respectable: 3.39 ERA, 9.8 K/9. He was an eyelash unlucky with hit rate and a little wild at times, which pushed his WHIP over the 1.45 mark. The Yahooligans are expecting big things from Urias — he’s already chased to 71-percent ownership.

Slugging prospect Cody Bellinger is also ready to go — after tearing up the minors for a few weeks (five homers, 1.055 OPS), he got the call Tuesday. A first baseman by trade, the Dodgers will use him in the outfield for now. Bellinger played left field and slotted eighth Tuesday, going 1-for-3 with a walk.

Perhaps Bellinger could be a threat to Adrian Gonzalez down the road, but right now the Dodgers have a hole in the outfield. Baseball American considered Bellinger a Top 10 prospect before the season.

• Sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down by the three-true outcome players, the guys who bundle most of their action into home runs, strikeouts, and walks. Balls in play are an exciting thing, too. Sometimes, they’re a buried part of baseball.

This is a roundabout way to tell you I’m enjoying the start from Houston infielder Yuli Gurriel.

Three true outcomes, bah. Gurriel has just one walk, one homer, a modest seven strikeouts. But he’s still carrying a .333 average. His quality of contract metrics aren’t out of this world, but he is better than average when it comes to hitting the ball hard (35.8 percent) and avoiding soft contact (just 15.1 percent). It’s helped him put together a .438 binge over the last two weeks.

If something is going to pop for Gurriel, it needs to happen now. The Cuban import turns 33 in June. He carries 1B and 3B eligibility in Yahoo, and is unclaimed in about 70 percent of leagues.

Mitch Haniger's breakout is put on hold
Mitch Haniger's breakout is put on hold

Mitch Haniger strained his oblique in Tuesday’s blowout loss at Detroit, and he’s expected to miss several weeks. It’s been a bumpy ride in April, all sorts of DL stories to sort through.

If you’re in a market for a new outfielder, here are some options at different price points:

— Corey Dickerson, 50 percent: Part of Tampa Bay’s grossly-underrated outfield. Sees a fair amount of time in the leadoff spot. Won’t run much, but a .324 average and five homers speak for itself. Career line-drive rate of 23.7 percent.

— Manuel Margot, 46 percent: The Red Sox are going to regret this Craig Kimbrel trade someday. Margot has a broad collection of skills and should bat leadoff all year. A 20-homer, 15-steal season is in play.

— Michael Conforto, 36 percent: Sometimes you have to trust the talent and hope the team eventually catches on. We’ve been giving you Conforto propaganda all spring, you should know the case by now. The Lucas Duda injury bought time time for Conforto, with Jay Bruce shifting to the infield.

— Taylor Motter, 35 percent: He qualifies at short and the outfield, and could stick in the lineup even with Jean Segura back. Five homers, two steals, winning hair, there’s a lot to like.

— Max Kepler, 32 percent: Outfielder in Minnesota, not named Byron Buxton.

— Hernan Perez, 20 percent: See above, plenty of selling points.

— Kevin Pillar, 19 percent: The OBP isn’t great and he was a disappointment last year, though that might be an injury-excused season. The 2015 season was useful and he’s getting run in the leadoff spot.

— Aaron Hicks, 13 percent: He’s burned me at times in the past, but there’s a pedigree to think about, plus four homers and two steals. The development curve is different for everybody.

— Aaron Altherr, 11 percent: He’s getting regular work of late, posting a .400-6-1-3-2 line over the last week. Still hacks at a lot of pitches, but at last the strikeout numbers are coming down. Showed some power-speed category juice in the minors.

Obviously this is a partial list of viable pickups, and you must season to taste, adjust them to your particular league. Share your favorite targets in the comments.