21-year-old right handed pitcher Freddy Peralta made his Major League debut today against the Colorado Rockies, and it went better than even Peralta himself could’ve imagined.
Peralta, who is the 9th best prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization per MLB Pipeline, went 5.2 innings in the team’s 7-3 on Sunday, allowing just one hit, and striking out 13 hitters, which is a Brewers franchise record for a debut, passing up the previous mark of 12 strikeouts by Steve Woodard in his debut against Roger Clemens in July 1997.
Milwaukee granted the start to Peralta after placing Chase Anderson on the 10-day disabled list. Peralta had been previously slated to start for the team’s Triple-A Affiliate Colorado Springs on Saturday night, but was scratched from that scheduled start when it was revealed that Anderson won’t be able to give it a go.
It was also a special day for Peralta beyond his performance because it was the first time his family was able to watch him pitch as a professional. Peralta’s parents flew in from the Dominican Republic with the plan being to see him pitch at the Triple-A level. The fact that Peralta ended up getting bumped up to the Major League level made things even more bittersweet.
You can watch all 13 of Peralta’s strikeouts right here:
Peralta was pitching a no-hitter until David Dahl singled with one out in the 5th inning. After that single, Peralta ended up striking out Rockies star outfielder Charlie Blackmon before giving way to Matt Albers and the Brewers bullpen.
With Anderson not eligible to pitch until next week because of his disabled list stint, it seemed likely that Peralta would get at least one more start regardless of how his one today went, but it now seems like an even bigger priority for manager Craig Counsell to make happen.
Anderson isn’t the only Brewers starting pitcher on the disabled list currently either. Jimmy Nelson is out at least another month with a shoulder injury, and there are no clear indications as to when Zach Davies will return from his own shoulder issue. Left-hander Wade Miley was went to the 60-day DL on Saturday right oblique strain.
That means that the Brewers starting rotation right now is looking like Junior Guerra, Jhoulys Chacin, Brandon Woodruff, Brent Suter, and Peralta. Guerra, Chacin, and Woodruff are likely to cover the team’s next three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, meaning that Peralta’s start will be on the weekend against the Minnesota Twins.
Peralta’s 13 strikeouts were the most in a MLB debut since Stephen Strasburg fanned 14 hitters in June 2010 for the Washington Nationals. Peralta had a 3.63 earned run average with 46 strikeouts across 34.2 innings at the Triple-A level this year.
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