Geraldo Perdomo's 2025 Breakout Should Earn MVP Votes

The Arizona Diamondbacks invested in their shortstop, inking Geraldo Perdomo to a four-year, $45 million extension in February. That decision looks excellent in hindsight, with Perdomo enjoying an offensive breakout in 2025.

The 2025 season has seen Perdomo graduate from a slap-hitting nine-hole hitter to an All-Star caliber hitter. The D-backs' shortstop is batting .284 with 17 home runs and 24 stolen bases. It's a remarkable feat considering he hit just 14 home runs for his entire career coming into the season.

His offensive breakout, combined with reliable shortstop defense, has made Perdomo one of the most valuable players in baseball. Using Wins Above Replacement (WAR) as the standard, he ranks in the top five among National League hitters with 5.6 fWAR/bWAR in 2025. That should earn him some downballot votes in the Most Valuable Player race.

Here's a deep dive into what improvements Perdomo has made at the plate this season to make himself a more dynamic hitter.

Perdomo Has Added More Slug in 2025

As a prospect, Perdomo made a name for himself as a scrappy hitter who provides grinding at-bats and forces pitchers to throw strikes. However, it also came with a lack of slugging impact.

In 2023 and 2024, Perdomo had an on-base percentage of .349 and a slugging percentage of .366. That came with some weak underlying metrics, as he ranked near the bottom in the expected metrics.

His .231 xBA, .314 xSLG, and .281 xwOBA ranked in the 23rd, 4th, and 11th percentile among qualified hitters in 2024. To become a better hitter, it was paramount that he improve his quality of contact metrics from last season.

That has been the case in 2025. Even with a small increase in average exit velocity (87.0 -> 87.4 MPH), Perdomo has made drastic improvements. He's hitting the ball in the air more than ever before, with a career low 40.0% ground ball rate. He's also hitting the ball with authority more regularly, with career-highs in hard-hit (31.3%) and barrel rates (5.7%).

The improved contact reflects in his expected stats. His xBA is up to .280 with a .425 xSLG and a .355 xwOBA. His xwOBA ranks in the 77th percentile among major league hitters.

With more slug in his bat, that's forcing pitchers to be more careful in the strike zone. That plays into Perdomo's strengths, as he's walked 83 times with only 71 strikeouts on the season. His .382 on-base percentage ranks fourth in the National League behind Juan Soto, Ketel Marte, and Shohei Ohtani.

As a result of his improvement, manager Torey Lovullo made a big lineup change last month. Perdomo moved to the top spot in the lineup, putting Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll in a better position to drive home runs. Since August 12, the D-backs have been scoring 5.0 runs per game.

Geraldo Perdomo's Impact on D-backs Lineup

In a year defined by injuries, Perdomo has been the picture of good health. He has played in 142 of the D-backs' 144 games at shortstop. This gives manager Torey Lovullo a reliable player in the lineup.

Oftentimes, the hitter who drives in runs will get more glamour from the media. However, there is something to be said about the guy who sets the table. Perdomo is one of the best hitters at creating run-scoring opportunities.

Turning to Baseball Reference, the D-backs' shortstop ranks sixth in both Base-Out Runs Added (RE24) at 31.25 and runs created at 99. The former is runs created by improving the run expectancy on the 24 base-out states in an inning. The latter is a formula developed by Bill James that factors in the number of times a player gets on base, bases advanced, and opportunities.

While Perdomo's skill set is mostly about setting the table, he's also capable of eating. His 91 RBI on the season is a franchise record, surpassing the 82 RBI from the recently retired Nick Ahmed in 2019. Most of them have come from hitting in the top third of the lineup, with 74 RBI in 110 starts.

Perdomo has settled into the leadoff spot for Arizona against right-handed starters. In that spot, he's slashing .320/.425/.477, with 23 strikeouts and 23 walks over 155 plate appearances. It's unclear if Lovullo will make a similar change against lefties and move Marte into a better spot to drive in runs.

With 18 games to go, Perdomo has a slight edge over Carroll in average WAR, 5.6 to 5.3. Carroll has a slight edge in FanGraphs WAR (fWAR), 5.9 to 5.6, while Perdomo has a massive lead in bWAR, 5.6 to 4.8.

Perdomo's MVP Candidacy in 2025

While he might not win the National League's Most Valuable Player Award, his season should get some votes downballot. There may be some competition from his own teammates, Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte, which could cost him some votes.

Carroll has his eyes on a 30-homer, 30-steal season with 18 games left to play. At the same time, Perdomo could be on track for a 20/20 season with 100 RBI. It will be interesting to see what happens if both players reach those milestones. Carroll would certainly catch more national attention for rare counting stats.