Prospect Profile – Fabian Pertuz and His Bat Should Make Some Noise When Baseball Resumes

Last summer, the Cubs had a trio of young hitters in the Arizona Rookie League who begin to fill up some stat sheets. Pedro Martinez quickly made his way to Eugene and began to do the same there. Luis Verdugo was named the Cubs hitter of the month in August and got in some work and in spring training along with some praise from the Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein. The third is the subject of today’s profile, infielder Fabian Pertuz.

Basic Info
Height – 6’
Weight – 150
Bats Right
Throws Right
Signed in 2017 is an international free agent
From Barranquilla, Colombia

INF Fabian Pertuz of Colombia signed with #Cubs. He's represented by ex-MLB player Orlando Cabrera. https://t.co/mJNHWaA0Dm @MLBPipeline pic.twitter.com/stBhjSEvV5

— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) July 5, 2017

Pertuz signed with the Cubs for $300.000 after training at the Orlando Cabrera Academy in Colombia, and, yes, that Orlando Cabrera. It was thought that Pertuz had the tools to stick at shortstop despite not having elite speed. Baseball America thought that he might slide over to second base when he began to fill out some more.

As a Cub, Pertuz quickly broke onto the scene in the summer of 2018 in the Dominican Summer League. He was one of the top hitters in the system with a wRC+ that year of 147. The young shortstop flashed the ability to hit for average at .298 and to get on base at a .419 clip to earn a promotion to Mesa for 2019.

Things changed a little bit for Pertuz in 2019. No longer was he at shortstop, but he moved over and played third base for most of the summer. He got off to a hot start in June and July before he sizzled a bit in August, especially when he shifted Cubs squads in the AZL from 1 to 2. Still, Pertuz wound up hitting .325 for the summer with a .358 OBP and a wRC+ of 126. His walk rate rate went from 14.1% in 2018 down to 4.0% last year.

When it comes to 2020, everything is still up in the air for Pertuz. He probably will head to extended spring training when baseball resumes and then to Eugene, if it hasn’t started when baseball resumes. As for where he plays, 3B might be the more likely place for him as the system is pretty deep at SS. I could see him sliding over to 2B, but that position is loaded in the system right now, too.

Here is a cool video put out in Colombia where he talks about his career. You can change your setting on the player to translate it for you. He talks about the influence of his father and how hard he works to fulfill his dream.