“You try to create as many of the situations as you can in the minor leagues, to allow them to figure out how to handle them.”

Baez, Russell, Correa and Seager each made their big league debuts in the third season after their draft year. Lindor took one more year. Where will Perez begin this next season? That’s unclear, notably because of the recent prominence of another young shortstop, Allen Cordoba, who played for Johnson City in 2016.

But where does Mo sense Perez will finish the season?

“Ultimately, you’re hoping he can get tested, and whether that ends up in Peoria (Low-A) or Palm Beach (High-A), that would be great,” the general manager said. “... I think the exciting thing about Delvin and where Delvin is at in his career is the fact that he’s going to have the opportunity to work with Jose Oquendo a lot. And I think that’s going to be a win-win for us.”

At times, Oquendo’s absence from the big-league team was conspicuous in 2016. We know he’s down in Florida with some prospects, but there’s something extremely reassuring — and invigorating — about Oquendo working with Perez. Oquendo played alongside “The Wizard,” but now Jose himself teaches wizardry at his own version of Gryffindor.