ORGANIZATION REPORTS

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo wasn’t just back to looking like his old self. The 21-year-old shortstop looked better than ever.

Perdomo struggled badly with Double-A Amarillo through early July, hitting just .151 in 47 games. That prompted the D-backs to transfer him to the development list and bring him back to their spring training facility in Scottsdale, Ariz.

For nearly a month, Perdomo worked to revamp his swing and regain his confidence. It appeared to be a successful stint.

Upon returning to Double-A on Aug. 5, the switch-hitting Perdomo slashed .321/.406/.530 in 35 games, marrying his strong approach with a newfound ability to drive the ball with power.

D-backs farm director Josh Barfield said Perdomo’s high-end exit velocity is up 6 mph from its previous peak.

As a member of the 40-man roster, Perdomo had to agree to go on the development list. Barfield said Perdomo wasn’t excited about it initially but eventually said he trusted the organization.

“We told him this is going to be the best thing that could ever happen to you,” Barfield said. “You’re going to get a chance to go work on some things and not have to figure it out while trying to get hits and survive in Double-A. This is going to allow you to reach the potential we all see in you.”

Perdomo, who has always been known for his bat-to-ball skills, had seen his strike-out rate spike to 22% upon his return. While Barfield said that would be a fair trade-off for the extra power, he expects the strike-outs to come back down as Perdomo gets more accustomed to his new swing.

D-backs assistant general manager Mike Fitzgerald said the club was working to get Perdomo to use his legs more to make his swing more powerful and more efficient.

“The season kind of wore him down with the struggles early on,” Barfield said. “It was nice to be able to hit reset. He made some physical changes and mechanical changes in his swing that are allowing him to drive the ball really like he never has before.”

—NICK PIECORO

ATLANTA BRAVES

Just a few starts into his professional career, Ryan Cusick was showing why he was a first-round pick in July.

The 6-foot-6, 235-pound righthander from Wake Forest struck out 34 while walking four across 16.1 innings over six starts for Low-A Augusta. His fastball touched triple-digits.

Cusick and lefthander Jared Shuster, both drafted in the first round out of Wake Forest the past two years, headline the Braves’ group of pitching prospects.

“You have to fish where the fish are,” Braves vice president of scouting Dana Brown said of taking back-to-back Demon Deacons.

Cusick’s went just 3-5, 4.24 in 12 starts as a junior this spring, but