Freddy Peralta

A lat strain put Peralta on the shelf for an extended period and shoulder fatigue cost him additional time late, with those issues conspiring to limit the righty to 18 appearances (17 starts) last season. This was after he made 27 starts in 2021, by far a career high after he'd spent most of the prior two seasons working in relief. Peralta showcased high-level stuff when available in 2022. In fact, his Statcast batted-ball numbers were off the charts in his 78-inning sample. His strikeouts took a step backward (from 33.6% to 27.1%), but he had success with all four of his pitches last season and projects to be firmly in the Brewers' rotation in 2023, health permitting. The 26-year-old has only cleared 100 big-league innings once so far and will be a candidate to move to relief full-time if he has another long-term injury, but the Brewers are likely holding out hope he can take the ball every fifth day.

Peralta has made the conversion from starter to reliever and back to starter with aplomb. After an impressive rookie showing, he struggled both in 2019 and 2020 with consistency, but always kept an uncanny ability to collect strikeouts with his deceptive fastball. Last winter, Peralta re-worked his slider in winter ball and unleashed hell on major-league hitters with it most of 2021, as the league hit .158 off the pitch while swinging and missing 43% of the time. He also dusted off his changeup, perhaps to give hitters a chance; it was the only one of his primary offerings the league hit over .160 against. The BABIP would give some pause, but his expected stats at a per-pitch level validate matters. Last season was the first in which Peralta shouldered any sort of workload. The skills are there, but the lack of workload track record should give you pause.

After starting the third game of the season a year ago Peralta pitched exclusively in relief, and his results were exceptional. In 26.1 innings over 14 relief appearances Peralta posted a 15.0 K/9, and of the 19 hits he allowed just two of them left the ballpark. At least part of that success can be attributed to the addition of a slider, and although it wasn't a dominant pitch, it made his sneaky fastball more effective than it was the year before. Peralta ditched his changeup but still went with his curveball 10 percent of the time, and with him now throwing three pitches with some regularity instead of two, and with him not turning 25 until June, there's still a chance he could rejoin the rotation. If he doesn't, expect him to be the primary bridge to the Brewers' talented back-end duo of Josh Hader and Devin Williams.

Peralta's stock was on the rise after a rookie year in which he posted an 11.0 K/9 and .178 BAA while working mainly as a starter, but he took a step back in his second season and bounced between the rotation and the bullpen before ultimately ending up in a relief role. Thanks mainly to a heater that comes in harder than it looks, Fastball Freddy continued racking up punchouts, and his K/9 went up in 2019, both when starting and relieving. However, he gave up far more hits and homers, which resulted in subpar results in both ratio categories. Peralta ended the season on a high note, posting a 1.86 ERA over eight September appearances and helping the Brewers secure a playoff spot. That could have him ticketed for a spot in the bullpen moving forward, but he will not turn 24 until this summer, so it seems likely he will get at least one more chance to prove he can be a quality starter at the top level.

Peralta burst onto the scene last year in his big-league debut, striking out 13 batters and allowing just one hit over 5.2 innings in Coors Field, of all places. Peralta averaged just 90.8 mph on his fastball last year, but that did not stop him from posting an 11.0 K/9 at the big-league level. With that velocity, Peralta’s success can be attributed to his deception, as he hides his pitches well from opposing hitters. That hasn’t been a pattern for sustained success in the past (think Ubaldo Jimenez, John Axford) but Peralta did throw in the mid-90s when working out of the bullpen late in the season, which gives him a nice long-term floor. He figures to compete for a rotation spot in the spring, but given the Brewers’ depth, it will be tough for him to secure a spot. If he doesn’t, he could work in relief at the big-league level or stay stretched out at Triple-A.

Peralta made steady improvements from 2014 through 2016, but he made a huge leap in 2017, dominating batters at both the High-A and Double-A ranks. A strong start to the season with High-A Carolina earned him a promotion to Double-A Biloxi, where he was even better. When it was all said and done, Peralta had struck out 169 batters over 120 innings while limiting opposing hitters to a minuscule .178 batting average. The only black mark on his ledger was a woeful walk rate that nearly touched 5.00. That is an area of concern for Peralta moving forward as he has struggled with free passes at nearly every level, as is his slight frame. However, Peralta's track record and strikeout potential give him tantalizing upside. If he is unable to reign in his control, his strikeout stuff should play just fine in a relief role.

Peralta was one of the lottery tickets acquired by the Brewers in the Adam Lind trade last winter. At just 6-foot and 168 pounds, he doesn't have the frame of the typical rotation prospect, but it's hard to argue with his results so far. In 16 appearances for Low-A Wisconsin, Peralta struck out 77 batters over just 60 innings en route to a 2.85 ERA. He took his lumps in eight games following a promotion to High-A Brevard County, but at 20 years old, there's no shame in that. He has issues with control but an arsenal that is nasty enough to rack up strikeouts. He'll never project as a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, but he could find himself starting in Milwaukee in a few years if he can improve his control.