In the 2015 season, Pericos started slow and replaced American manager Von Hayes with Mexican legend Matías Carrillo early in the campaign. He went on to lead the team to playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons, but suffered a first round defeat, losing a 3-2 contest to the Campeche Pirates. Even in the first year under Benavides, the Pericos improvements were being seen as import players included All-Star Game Home Run Derby Champion Brent Clevlen, former American League Most Valuable Player Miguel Tejada and 15-year Major League closer Kyle Farnsworth. In the off-season the new player development plans took shape as the Pericos' new Monclova Academy had instructors that included Washington National's Manager Dusty Baker, former White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillén, Atlanta Braves legendary pitching coach Leo Mazzone, former Chicago Cubs pitcher Les Lancaster, two-time National League All-Star catcher Ozzie Virgil Jr., San Francisco Giants great Chris Speier and many more. In addition, Benavides made extensive improvements to the 43 year old Stadium Hermanos Serdán to make the games even more fun for the fans and families of the Perico supporters. The beautiful upgraded stadium was ready on time for opening day of the 2016 season.