The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is referred to as Major League Baseball’s unicorn because of his unique pitching-hitting prowess.
Even rarer is a pitcher and catcher who can also succeed in the batter’s box.
Meet Newport Harbor High senior Lucas Perez, who performs both ends of baseball’s battery at an all-star level.
One of the top defensive backstops in Orange County, Perez threw out the first 15 attempted base stealers this season, before Fountain Valley’s Anthony Zamora swiped a bag on April 18.
“While that was the first successful stolen base against us, I have to credit to my pitchers, who obviously were doing their job by holding runners on well and getting to the plate quickly, giving us a shot to throw people out,” Perez said.
The Sailors’ pitching staff is led by juniors Tyler Clark (1.11 earned-run average) and Gavin Guy (1.22) and sophomore Keaton Anderson (1.47). But Perez has also been solid on the mound, giving up only one extra-base hit in 23 innings pitched.
At the plate, the Chapman University-bound Perez had a team-leading .346 batting average, two home runs and a squad-high on-base percentage of .557 last week.
The Sailors were 17-6 and ranked in the Orange County Register’s Top 20. They’re in second place behind the county’s top-ranked team, Huntington Beach, in the Sunset League and ranked No. 2 in CIF-Southern Section Division II.
It requires an iron arm to play both catcher and pitcher, and most youth and travel-ball coaches avoid using the same player at the most demanding throwing positions on the diamond.
But Perez, who has been outstanding at both, raised his hand to pitch one day his sophomore year when the Sailors needed help on the mound and struck out six Fountain Valley batters in two innings. Newport Harbor Coach Josh Lee has since turned the ball over to him often.
“It’s a pretty little niche thing,” the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Perez said of his unique dual positions, which he will continue to play at Chapman, where he committed in April.
As a Newport Harbor freshman, Perez earned the starting catcher position and made second-team all-league in 2022, the first of three consecutive years as an all-league choice, including first team as a junior. Perez will likely garner his fourth all-league selection this year.
Perez will also play for the South All-Star team in the Orange County North-South All-Star Game June 4 at Great Park Stadium in Irvine. Lee will be an assistant coach for the South. Burt Call of Villa Park will be the head coach.
On the mound, Perez throws a four-seam fastball in the mid-to-upper 80s, cutter/slider, change-up and 12-6 curveball.
When mentioned that he probably ices his right throwing arm a lot, Perez said, “I really take that recovery stuff seriously. It’s a big part of my life. I love working out and taking care of my body. I’m always stretching and working out, and I take pride in that. I try to keep my body loose and I’ve never had an issue with any arm pain.”
Perez’s value goes beyond his catching, pitching and hitting.
“As a pitcher, he is a true gamer,” Lee said. “Being that he has also been my starting catcher for all four years of his high school career on varsity, it is so nice as a coach to have basically another pitching coach on the mound. He will come back in between innings and have feedback on what he’s seeing with hitters’ swings from his angle. And that collaborative process between us has been awesome to watch flourish, especially these last two years (while) he’s been one of our frontline starters.
“He has great stuff, lands all his pitches in any count, and has the confidence in himself to beat anyone at any time,” Lee said. “Bulldog is an apt description.”
Lee added that “what stands out most to me is his leadership and maturity this year on the field. He has been a captain since sophomore year and that is no easy task. Yet as a coaching staff we’ve been able to see him adapt and refine leadership skills each year.
“On the field, his contact rate has gone way up and he’s still able to hit with power. He has confidence and has come through in some really big important moments already,” Lee said. “Anyone who knows Lucas knows he’s what a Newport Harbor Sailor baseball player should be: tough, smart and a great work ethic.”
Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.