Cincinnati Reds Place Billy Hamilton on Bereavement List, Call Up Jose Peraza

At least for the weekend, the Cincinnati Reds will get a look at one of their top offensive prospects.

Following the tragic death of his nephew, center fielder Billy Hamilton will be out for a few days as the Reds placed him on the bereavement list on Friday. To take his place on the roster, the club has called up another speedster in Jose Peraza.

Per MLB rules, Hamilton will miss a minimum of three games and a maximum of seven games, so at the least, he will be out for this weekend’s series against the Philadelphia Phillies in Citizens Bank Park.

In the meantime, the Reds will get a look at who MLB Pipeline ranks as the team’s No. 5 prospect. Peraza, who recently turned 22, was acquired in December as part of the return in the three-team trade involving Todd Frazier. Before that, Peraza was involved in another big trade when he was sent from the Atlanta Braves — the team who originally signed him — to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a massive 12-player trade before the deadline last season.

He has spent his first 30 games of this season with Triple-A Louisville, where he is batting .295/.341/.393 with seven doubles, a triple, a home run, 21 runs scored and six stolen bases. Most of his time in the field has been spent at shortstop (23 games), but he has also played center field (6) and second base (1).

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Peraza does have some experience in the big leagues, having played seven games as a September call-up with the Dodgers last season, when he hit .182/.250/.318.

The Venezuelan is one of the best pure hitting prospects in the game, but his over-aggressiveness and lack of power have caused some to drop him down their prospect rankings this year. He has just 10 career home runs in six seasons and an abysmal 4.9 walk percentage across all levels. With a 6.6 BB%, he’s been slightly better this year, which is an encouraging sign. Fortunately, his ability to put the bat on the ball makes up for his lack of walks, as his career strikeout rate sits at a mere 10.5 percent.

With Hamilton out for a minimum of three games, it’s likely that Peraza will get at least a couple of starts in center field. After all, the reason he was sent down to the minors after spring training was to ensure he’d get regular playing time. While it’s under lousy circumstances, fans have to be excited to see what Peraza can do.