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When Did Geraldo Perdomo Become a Star?
Via Just Baseball

There’s a new captain in the Arizona desert. Though Arizona Diamondbacks fans long knew about this, the rest of MLB is discovering it in 2025. That new captain is Geraldo Perdomo, the All-Star-caliber shortstop who is the unquestioned leader of the ball club despite being just 25 years old.

The Diamondbacks knew long ago that Perdomo was the leader of the team. That was evidenced by years of manager Torey Lovullo discussing how he was grooming him for just that position, along with training him how to handle pitchers, be the captain of the infield, and take responsibility for a nything that happens, even if he had no action in the play.

Lovullo is Perdomo’s mentor and treats him like a son while pushing him to be the best ballplayer possible. He was an arguable All-Star snub this year, but he did earn the honor back in 2023.

He’s not yet in his prime and is having a career year, but more on that below. The sky is the limit for the D-Backs all-around talented shortstop, and fans are seeing that shine through in 2025.

The Heartbeat of the Clubhouse

When GM Mike Hazen and Co. gave Perdomo an extension ahead of this season, perhaps they could see what was to come with their blossoming shortstop not just on the field, but as a captain of the team too.

Perdomo earned a four-year contract extension worth $45 million. The deal also includes a fifth-year club option, which gives them control over three free agent years and through the 2030 season, when he will be just 30 years old and due for a likely larger extension.

They knew the breakout was coming, and now the entire MLB world and its fans are watching one of the next great shortstops of this upcoming era showcase all he can do and the potential he displays.

Beyond what he’s brought to the diamond, he’s really emerged as a spokesperson for the players in the clubhouse.

Perdomo recently showcased how he stands up for his teammates when he spoke to the media in Colorado in an impassioned plea to them to leave Ketel Marte alone, who became embroiled in a media firestorm over whether he’s taken too many days off in the past couple of seasons, amongst other issues.

Perdomo stood up for him publicly and defended his teammate in the most leadership-style way possible:

It’s a powerful example of how he’s willing to fight for the guys around him and how his impact extends beyond the diamond.

A Career Year at the Plate

The switch-hitter is seeing a major increase in power this year and having a true career-year at the plate.

He’s also setting records for the Arizona organization. On Saturday night, after the longest home run from the right side of the plate in his career, he reached 84 RBI on the season, surpassing Nick Ahmed’s 82 RBI from 2019 for the most RBIs in a single season for a shortstop in team history.

That home run was his third of the season and his career from the right side, and he did it with a deep bone bruise in his left hand. He’s been playing through the injury for months, and it affects him most when he hits from the right side.

Yet, he’s barely missed any time and has continued to be one of the most productive shortstops in baseball. He’s played in 130 of 131 games for Arizona this year. Even with the injury, he’s still batting .336 against lefties this year with an OPS of .843. Against right-handers, it’s still a good .270 average with an .842 OPS.

He leads Arizona in games, at-bats, hits, doubles, stolen bases, and walks, despite being the captain of a team that features superstars Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll.

Perhaps it’s time that Perdomo is considered a superstar as well. After all, his stats this season are evident that he’s one of the best shortstops in baseball and potentially the best in the National League despite Francisco Lindor and Elly De La Cruz being named All-Stars over him.

When comparing Perdomo to De La Cruz or Lindor, he compares quite favorably on offense and defense.

Perdomo is tied with Lindor for 11 errors but is far below De La Cruz’s MLB-leading 19 errors. Meanwhile, the bats are quite close to each other, with Perdomo outshining the two All-Stars in more categories than either of the other two this year.

The image below is from Stathead. This was for stats entering Sunday, before Perdomo laced a triple and scored a run:


Via Just Baseball

He’s set many career-highs this season, including OPS+, homers, RBI, hits, WAR, batting average, and stolen bases. Perdomo has been on fire over his last month or 30 games too, as he’s hit .358 with an OPS of 1.022, making Lovullo’s decision to hit him lead-off or second look like an extremely wise decision.

Over that time, he’s struck out just 12 times with 22 walks in 109 at-bats. There’s still a month of the season for him to set even higher benchmarks and finish on a very high note.

Speaking of his strikeouts and walks, Perdomo is one of the extremely few players that has more walks than strikeouts this season. He’s walked at a rate of 14.0% against a strikeout rate of just 10.9%. That’s a difference of 18 more walks than strikeouts, 81-63.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have a star shortstop on the verge of becoming a superstar if he isn’t one already. Geraldo Perdomo is the latest diamond to be unearthed in the scorching desert of Arizona.

Stats were taken prior to play on August 24.

This article first appeared on Just Baseball and was syndicated with permission.

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