FREDDY Diaz PERALTA
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Nickname:   N/A Position:   RHP
Home: N/A Team:   BREWERS
Height: 5' 11" Bats:   R
Weight: 175 Throws:   R
DOB: 6/4/1996 Agent: N/A
Uniform #: 51  
Birth City: Moca, D.R.
Draft: 2013 - Mariners - Free agent - Out of the D.R.
YR LEA TEAM SAL(K) G IP H SO BB GS CG SHO SV W L OBA ERA
2013 DSL DSL-Mariners   13 55.1 38 49 15 10 1 0 0 3 3 0.198 1.46
2014 AZL AZL-Mariners   12 51 55 42 24 12 0 0 0 1 6 0.275 5.29
2015 AZL AZL-Mariners   11 57 52 67 8 9 0 0 0 2 3   4.11
2016 FSL BREVARD COUNTY   8 22 27 20 12 2 0 0 0 0 3   5.73
2016 MWL WISCONSIN   16 60 45 77 24 8 0 0 2 4 1   2.85
2017 SL BILOXI   13 63.2 38 91 31 11 0 0 1 2 5   2.26
2017 CAR CAROLINA   12 56.1 39 78 31 8 0 0 0 1 3   3.04
2018 MWL WISCONSIN   1 2 1 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0   4.50
2018 PCL COLORADO SPRINGS   13 61 49 87 28 13 0 0 0 6 2   3.10
2018 NL BREWERS   16 78.1 49 96 40 14 0 0 0 6 4 0.178 4.25
2019 PCL SAN ANTONIO   4 7 4 17 3 0 0 0 0 0 0   1.29
2019 SL BILOXI   1 4.2 4 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 1   5.79
2019 NL BREWERS $565.00 39 85 87 115 37 8 0 0 1 7 3 0.257 5.29
2020 NL BREWERS $448.00 15 29.1 22 47 12 1 0 0 0 3 1 0.204 3.99
2021 NL BREWERS $1,235.00 28 144 84 195 56 27 1 0 0 10 5 0.165 2.81
2022 IL NASHVILLE   2 5.1 4 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 0   1.69
2022 NL BREWERS $2,485.00 18 78 54 86 27 17 0 0 0 4 4 0.19 3.58
2023 NL BREWERS $3,735.00 30 165.2 131 210 54 30 0 0 0 12 10 0.212 3.86
2024 NL BREWERS   32 173.2 143 200 68 32 0 0 0 11 9 0.224 3.68
Personal
  • In 2013, Peralta signed with the Mariners (see Transactions below).

  • In 2015, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Peralta as the 24th-best prospect in the Mariners organization. He moved up to #15 in the winter before 2016 spring training, then was down at #21 in the spring of 2017. He was at #12 in the offseason before 2018 spring camps opened.

  • Peralta is impressive on and off the field. He is a coach’s delight with a great work ethic and intelligence, which makes his vast improvement easy to understand.

    Conventional wisdom says that slightly built righties don’t make great big league starters, but the Brewers beg to differ. Peralta is still developing physically and maturing as a pitcher, and the expectation is that he will remain in the rotation.

  • MLB debut (May 13, 2018): They sat in row 25 behind home plate, raising cell phones in the air every time Freddy emerged from the Brewers dugout. Until this overcast day at Coors Field, Peralta's family had never seen him pitch as a professional. They captured every moment. And there was plenty to capture.

    Peralta was dazzling in a 13-strikeout Major League debut with essentially one weapon—a moving four-seam fastball he threw for 90 of his 98 pitches. Peralta became the first pitcher since Matt Harvey in 2012 to log double-digit strikeouts in his first Major League start. And the 13 K's were the most in a debut since Stephen Strasburg fanned 14 in 2010. The Brewers beat the Rockies 7-3 on Mother's Day.

    According to Baseball Reference, Peralta is the fifth pitcher since 1908 to strike out 13 or more batters in his Major League debut, with Strasburg, J.R. Richard (15 in 1971), Karl Spooner (15 in 1954) and Cliff Melton (13 in 1937). All after beginning his career in a 3-and-0 hole against Rockies leadoff man DJ LeMahieu.

    "He got his nerves out the first three pitches of the game," said Brewers manager Craig Counsell. "And then it just kept getting better."

    At 21 years old, Peralta was the youngest Brewers starter since Yovani Gallardo in 2007. (Adam McCalvy -MLB.com)

  • 2018 season:  By making 14 starts, Peralta helped hold together a starting rotation that was a quiet strength for much of the year. Among Major League starters who pitched at least 70 innings, only Chris Sale had a lower opponents' average than Peralta.

  • September 24, 2020: The Brewers placed Freddy on the paternity list while he was hustling home to Milwaukee for the birth of his first child.

  • The 2020 season saw Freddy emerge as a key bullpen piece for the Brewers. 

    Peralta was a year removed from a mixed 2019 season in which he was moved from starter to reliever when the Brewers elected to give him a five-year contract extension with $15.5 million in guaranteed money. Despite not having a clear job description at the time of the extension, the Brewers felt he would be an effective out-getter in whatever role they used him in going forward.

    Peralta’s 2019 consisted of multiple roles as he started eight games for the Brewers, but he ended up settling into a reliever role with occasional high-leverage situational game action. And 2020 would be no different. Peralta made 15 appearances for the Brewers and his one start came in the third game of the season.

    Whether or not Freddy should be in the starting rotation or left in the bullpen is an article for another time, so today let’s grade his 2020 season performance.

    Freddy Peralta 2020 Report Card - B+

    In a smaller sample size of 29.1 innings pitched this season, Freddy posted a career best 3.99 ERA. He also struck batters out at a career high 37.6%! As a reliever, his strikeout percentage increased to 40%, which among relivers with a minimum of 20 innings pitched, was 12th best in all of baseball.

    With the increased amount of strikeouts, Peralta really did not change the way he attacks hitters all that much. While he did add a slider last off-season, Statcast indicates he only threw it on 24 occasions, which is just under a five percent usage rate.

    Rather it was another season in which Peralta threw a healthy dose of high fastballs and mixed in his swooping curveball. His fastball command was great this year as he consistently hit the top of the zone and, as a result, he limited batters to a .203 batting average against the pitch. The curveball was his big whiff pitch as opposing batters swung and missed 54% of the time against it.

    However, when the curveball hung, damage was done with it as five out of the eight extra base hits he allowed this season came against that pitch. Thankfully for Peralta, this was few and far between as batters managed to hit just .240 against his curveball.

    The Brewers kept Peralta’s outings extended early on in the season, as his first three appearances out of the bullpen this season went three innings, four innings, and then two innings. He also racked up a lot of strikeouts in those situations. Peralta struck out 6 of the 12 White Sox batters that he faced, 8 of 14 Twins, and then 5 of 7 Cubs.

    With the increased success comes increased responsibilities. Peralta eventually started receiving more of the high-leverage opportunities, though that was not the case to start 2020 mainly due David Phelps holding that role early on and Devin Williams busting onto the scene.

    Still, Baseball Reference indicates that 9 of his 15 games came in high-leverage situations. He of course posted more medium-leverage situations, likely due to mainly coming in during the middle innings of games, but he did manage to record three holds on the year.

    All-in-all, it was a step forward for Peralta in 2020. He still hasn’t been able to develop a consistent third pitch throughout an entire season since entering the league in 2017, but he is just 24 years old and still has plenty of development ahead of him.  (Oct. 21, 2020 - Tyler Koerth)

  • July 10, 2021: Peralta was chosen as a replacement for the All-Star Game. It was his first.

  • Sept. 2022: Peralta chose to play for the Dominican Republic in the 2023 WBC.

  • August 2023: Freddy was NL Pitcher of the Month.

  • May 1, 2024: Brewers pitchers Abner Uribe, Freddy Peralta, and manager Pat Murphy, along with Rays center fielder Jose Siri all drew suspensions and undisclosed fines from MLB following their ejections during an eventful win over the Rays at American Family Field.  (A Berry & A McCalvy - MLB.com - May 1, 2024)

    May 6-11, 2024: Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta dropped his appeal of a five-game suspension and began serving it. 

  •  Sept. 6, 2024: Already the most ebullient player on the Brewers roster, Freddy was almost bouncing off the walls at American Family Field on a Friday afternoon, his megawatt smile just that much wider.

    The reason? His younger brother, Luis, is in town this weekend – as a member of the Colorado Rockies bullpen.

    The left-hander, who made his major-league appearance on Aug. 24, rode side-by-side with his right-handed older brother on scooters as the two made their way through the service level of the ballpark in advance of their teams' series opener.

    There will be a family gathering including the Peraltas' parents following Friday's game at Freddy's house.

    But first, there was the business of competing between the lines.

    The two teams are in vastly different positions; the Brewers' magic number to clinch the Central Division title is 12 and the Rockies 32 games off the pace in the NL West. But that will have no effect on the Peraltas, who are finally achieving the dream of competing against each other at the major-league level.

    “For years," Freddy said when asked how long he'd dreamt of the scenario. "I wasn’t expecting all of this (so soon), him being here, and then we’re playing together.

    "It’s a gift from God."

    Freddy's story is well-known – the right-hander is a former all-star, one of the best strikeout artists in the NL in recent seasons and currently situated at the front of the Brewers' remade rotation. He burst onto the scene on Mother's Day back in 2018 with 13 strikeouts in a win against the Rockies at Coors Field as a 22-year-old prospect.

    Luis, 23, signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent back in 2017 and reached as high as the Class AA level in the minor leagues before being traded to the Rockies in exchange for reliever Jalen Beeks on July 29.

    He made a total of six appearances at two levels in Colorado's minor-league system before debuting at Yankee Stadium and enters the series in Milwaukee with 5 ⅓ shutout innings under his belt.

    Luis throws a four-seam fastball that averages 94.9 mph and a curveball, a primarily two-pitch arsenal that sounds awfully familiar to what Freddy used to attack hitters for his first few years with the Brewers.

    Asked how Luis compares to Freddy at the same age, Freddy was emphatic in his response.

     “He has better stuff than me. Way better," Freddy said. "He has the fastball that he can use in different ways, a very good fastball. He has the slider that is kind of like a curveball, and he has the cutter. He has a changeup, but he's not throwing it a lot. I don’t know why, but it is there, too. (Todd Rosiak)

    TRANSACTIONS

  • April 2013: Peralta signed as a free agent with the Mariners, via scouts Eddy Toledo, Kelvin Dominguez, and Tim Kisner. His bonus was reflective of his height: $137,000.

  • December 9, 2015: The Brewers traded 1B Adam Lind to the Mariners; acquiring RHP Carlos Herrera, RHP Daniel Missaki, and RHP Freddy Peralta.

  • Feb. 26, 2020: Peralta will have some security while he finds his way after the Brewers and the 23-year-old agreed to a five-year, $15.5 million contract extension. The deal includes two club options that could raise the contract’s total value to $30 million. 

Pitching
  • Peralta has a quality 90-94 mph FASTBALL that gets a 55 on the scouting scale. It is what scouts refer to as a “disappearing fastball”—a pitch that batters have a difficult time tracking because of its high spin rate and the deception in his easy delivery, getting on the hitter quickly.

    He has an average (50 grade) CURVEBALL that is out of the same arm slot as his fastball and is effective at keeping hitters off his heater
    . He also has a CHANGEUP that he delivers with deceptive arm speed and excellent feel. It is an above-average pitch (55 grade) and it is still improving. 

    “He really works off that one pitch— his fastball,” farm director Tom Flanagan said, “but that one pitch could be considered more than that because he does a lot with it. He can cut it and make it move where he wants.

    “Freddy has really learned how to pitch. His feel for pitching is very impressive. I think he’s definitely a future starter in the big leagues,” Flanagan said. “He has great aptitude and work ethic, and he will have three Major League pitches in the not-too-distant future. The way he works, we feel he’ll continue to develop and reach that potential.” (Tom Haudricourt - Baseball America - 12/08/2017)

  • Freddy has a good feel for pitching and a loose arm. He has a presence on the mound. He is confident and aggressive on the mound.

  • As the Reds found out with Johnny Cueto, smallish Latin American righthanders with compact deliveries can be very effective. 

  • Peralta gets comps with former Brewer starter Mike Fiers, who hitters said that couldn't pick the ball up until very late.
  • Peralta has a smooth, easy repeatable delivery. It has deception with a little crossfire action going on, that hitters have difficulty picking up. So he gets a lot of swings-and-misses.

  • Freddy strikes out more than one per inning, but he walks too many hitters.

  • June 2018: Peralta is producing early results unseen in Major League history. Twice now in four big league starts, Peralta has struck out 10 or more while allowing one hit. According to STATS LLC, he is the first rookie in the live-ball era to do that. He's the first Brewers pitcher to have two such games in an entire career.

  • 2018 Season: Even without big stuff, Peralta recorded a strikeout rate of 12.8 per nine innings in the PCL, with his poise and pitch selection.

    Peralta relies on hitters chasing and his walks spike when they don’t. He may be limited to a back-end starter by that, but he effectively fills that role now.

  • 2018 key stat: 77.7 percent four-seam fastball usage.

    It's difficult to believe a righty could succeed while throwing a four-seamer—one that averaged under 91 mph— more than three-quarters of the time. And yet, here we are with Peralta. The 22-year-old posted a 4.25 ERA, 3.72 FIP and excellent 29.9 percent strikeout rate over 16 games (14 starts). Then he notched six K's over three hitless innings in Game 4 of the NLCS.

    While his curveball was an effective second pitch, Peralta threw his high-spin, "invisible" four-seamer far more often than any other regular MLB starter, and opponents batted just .195 against it. (Andrew Simon- MLB.com -Dec. 29, 2018)

  • 2018 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 77.8% of the time, his Change 2.7%; and Curve 19.5% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 91.4 mph, Change 86.8, and Curve 77.1 mph.

    2019 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 78.3% of the time, his Change 1.3%; and Curve 20.4% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 94.1 mph, Change 89.6, and Curve 77.7 mph.

    2020 Season Pitch Usage: 4-seam Fastball 65.9% of the time, his Slider 23.3%; and Curve 10.9% of the time. Average velocity: 4-seam 93.4 mph, Slider 80, and Curve 76.2 mph.

    2022 Season Pitch Usage/Avg. Velo: Fastball 54.6% - 93 mph; Slider 19.8% - 80.4 mph; Curve 15% - 76 mph; Change 10.7% - 86.2 mph. 

    2023 Season Pitch Usage/Avg. Velo: Fastball 51% - 94.5 mph; Slider 22% - 82.4 mph; Curve 12% - 77 mph; Change 15% - 88.6 mph.

    2024 Season Pitch Usage/Avg. Velo: Fastball 53.8% - 94.5 mph; Change 17.6% - 87.8 mph; Slider 21.4% - 81.6 mph; Curve 7.3% - 78.3 mph.

  • 2019 Season: Peralta made 8 starts in his first 12 appearances but allowed 31 earned runs. Following an outing against the Astros on June 11, where he allowed six earned runs across four innings, Peralta was relieved of starting duties and sent to the bullpen.

  • Feb 14, 2020: Following a tough 2019 season, Freddy reported to Brewers camp with a new pitch and a renewed sense of confidence. Peralta had spent the winter in the Dominican Republic, resurrecting the slider he’d strayed from in recent seasons, including the past two years in the big leagues when he pitched predominantly with four-seam fastballs, curveballs and the occasional changeup. He added the slider at the urging of the Brewers, beginning with meetings at the team’s Dominican training complex with former pitcher Carlos Villanueva, who is now a special assistant to the GM for player development.

    The 23-year-old Peralta was surprised how quickly he felt comfortable with the pitch.

    “I knew that I could make the slider great, but not that fast,” Peralta said. “I took two or three weeks during [Dominican Winter League] games, and when I saw those moments, down in the count or in 3-2 counts a lot of the time, 0-2 when you’re behind in the count, I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I can feel it like I feel the fastball. I can throw it whenever I want.”

    What began as a conversation with Villanueva graduated to bullpen sessions and live batting practice before Peralta pitched for the Toros del Este. In 20 innings covering the regular season and playoffs, he limited opponents to six hits and three walks with 34 strikeouts and a 1.35 ERA.

    Peralta’s role with the 2020 Brewers remains to be determined. If he doesn’t win the fifth starter spot, he would be a strong candidate for the bullpen. Peralta opened last season in the rotation but quickly lost his hold on the job, finishing with a 5.29 ERA in 85 big league innings.

    “I want something better, a better year,” Peralta said. “I gave 100 percent, I know that. But this year is the year. Last year is in the books. This year is important to me. Here we go.” (A McCalvy - MLB.com - Feb 14, 2020)

  • 2020 Season: When pitching in a relief role, he is striking out more batters and allowing a lot less runs. These numbers would not make him an ace-status reliever, probably just a solid one, but better results nonetheless. Peralta’s FIP and xFIP were the league’s 15th and 14th best marks, respectively. And if you want a Brewer frame of reference, Hader’s best single season FIP to date is 2.23 (albeit with more than three times the number of innings).

    With respect to more “predictive” stats, Peralta saw massive improvements in xwOBA and xwOBAcon. His 2020 xwOBA dropped nearly 50 points, from .293 in 2019 to .249, and his xwOBAcon improved from .385 to .356. Peralta still allowed a barrel at a rate of 7.9% on the season, landing him in the 38th percentile, but his well-improved xBA and strikeout rate more than made up for it.

    Peralta’s 2020 pCRA of 3.16 put him in the 96th percentile of relief pitchers. That’s ranking in the top 4% in what is one of the most predictive ERA estimators we have for relief pitchers. This alone may already give him relief-ace status.

    His biggest improvement came in the form of his four-seam fastball. (Kyle Horton - Jan. 23, 2021)

  • June 4, 2021: Freddy arrived in the Major Leagues on Mother’s Day in 2018 as a 22-year-old in braces, with a live fastball and a lot of work to do on the rest of his arsenal. 

    While coming within five outs of Brewers history on his 25th birthday, Peralta was the total pitching package.

    The righthander from Moca in the Dominican Republic threw four different pitches for strikes and didn’t allow a hit until Nick Ahmed flung his bat at Peralta’s 109th pitch, a slider below the strike zone, and dropped a single into left field with one out in the eighth inning. Peralta departed to a standing ovation from the American Family Field faithful and watched Brad Boxberger and Trevor Richards complete a one-hitter for a 5-1 win over the D-backs.

    “I mean, he got me. Do this to him,” Peralta said, doffing his cap. “But it was awesome, man. I enjoyed every moment of this game.”

    Only one pitcher has thrown a no-hitter on his birthday, and it’s going on 109 years since the Tigers’ George Mullin, born on the fourth of July, no-hit the St. Louis Browns in the second game of a doubleheader on that date in 1912. Since then, five birthday boys had thrown one-hitters, but none has matched Mullin’s feat.

    Through 11 starts plus a planned relief stint on Opening Day, Peralta is second among Major League qualifiers with a 36.9 percent strikeout rate, behind the Mets' Jacob deGrom (45.8 percent) and ahead of the Yankees' Gerrit Cole (36.5 percent). And Peralta has a 2.25 ERA. (A McCalvy - MLB.com - June 4, 2021)

  • 2021 Season:  Let it be no surprise that Freddy was a highly impactful player for the Brewers. Serving as Milwaukee’s third-string starter in MLB’s deepest pitching staff, Freddy had the career year he’s been bound to have. This all came after three years in the bullpen/minors following a year in the rotation during his rookie season. It’s safe to say that without Peralta in 2021, the Brewers probably wouldn’t have won the division.

    Peralta’s Statistics: At the young age of 25, this first-time All-Star produced an all-star stat line. In 144 innings pitched, he posted: 

    10-5 W-L Record     195 Strikeouts      12.2 Strikeouts/9      2.81 ERA      0.97 WHIP

    5.2 Hits/9     4.0 WAR     .165 Opponent BA     .232 Batting Average of Balls in play

    85.6% Average Exit Velocity   

    Strikeout Freddy is known for his off-speed pitches. Slider, curve, and changeup. His slider is lights out. Most commonly thrown later in counts, the nasty movement Peralta implements on his put-away pitches allows for minimal contact. 

    Peralta exceeded expectations in 2021 and is projected to be just as solid next season. At times, he was even considered to be a dark horse CY Young candidate. Not many Brewers fans predicted he would be so good.

    It’s hard to find a negative in last season’s performance. It was nearly flawless. Freddy Peralta, who was mid-to-below average in the last few years, has solidified his spot in the starting rotation for future playoff pushes, all thanks to a breakout season that was a long time coming. Brewers Nation and the Crew can fully depend on another All-Star season from one of the nastiest pitchers in baseball.  (Mark Musgrave III - Jan 23, 2022)

  • 2022 Season: Peralta dealt with multiple shoulder injuries, twice landing on the IL and missing 76 games. The first one was worse . . . and almost certainly resulted in the second one, when he was pitching through the late-season schedule.

    Unfortunately for his future, 2022 was not the first time Peralta had shoulder issues. He also missed games on the injured list in 2021 and 2019 due to shoulder injures.

    When healthy, Peralta is dynamic, with big strikeout stuff (~30% K-rate) and the ability to avoid barrels, despite giving up some hard contact along the way. The issue, of course, is keeping him healthy. 

    Peralta's best start of the season came on May 16, at home against the reigning World Series champion Braves. Peralta went seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out 10. That was one of only six scoreless outings for Peralta in 2022. Importantly, Peralta finished the 2022 season healthy and, at least from what has been said publicly, he will report to Arizona healthy as well.  (Adam Rygg - Feb. 8, 2023)

  • May 2, 2023: Most swings and misses in a game for a Brewers pitcher since 2008, when Statcast pitch tracking data began:  30 Corbin Burnes      26 Corbin Burnes      26 Corbin Burnes      26 Corbin Burnes 26 Corbin Burnes      25 FREDDY PERALTA      24 Chris Narveson      24 CC Sabathia      24 Willy Peralta. (Adam McCalvy)

  • 2023 Season: Peralta’s cumulative season stats seem like more of a regression from the previous season, but his second half tells the real story. His 2.81 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 12.6 K/9 over 73 ⅔ innings after the All-Star break was the form Brewers fans had been searching for since his career-best 2021 season.  (Jason Wang - Oct. 14, 2023)

  • Sept. 25, 2024: Peralta reached 200 strikeouts on the season and joined a short list of players in franchise history with multiple seasons of 200 strikeouts. In franchise history the only other Brewers pitchers to have multiple seasons of 200 strikeouts are Teddy Higuera, Corbin Burnes, and Yovani Gallardo.  Ben Sheets, who battled injuries throughout his career, had just one season of 200+ strikeouts (264) and his next closest season topped out at 170 punch outs.  Brandon Woodruff also currently has just one 200 strikeout season as he fell 10 short of 200 in 2022.

  • 2024 Season: 173 ⅔ IP, 3.68 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 10.4 SO/9, 3.5 BB/9, 114 ERA+, 2.6 rWAR

    Peralta recently shared Brewer Fanatic’s Pitcher of the Year award for 2024. Peralta’s numbers weren’t as nice as Tobias Myers, but his total workload and raw stuff helped compensate for a slight difference in ERA. He’s an unlikely ace, especially for a roster as loaded in pitching talent as the Brewers.

    Peralta can be a somewhat frustrating pitcher to watch, with his 9.4% walk rate and tendency to give up some loud contact but he’s genuinely pretty good, I promise. Would I wager my unborn child’s college tuition on him having a quality start in the postseason? Probably not, but he’s on a team-friendly contract with a reasonable $8 million team option coming up. (Jason Wang - Oct. 11, 2024)

Career Injury Report
  • April 16-May 2, 2019: Freddy was on the IL with an injury to his sternoclavicular joint, where his right collarbone meets his sternum.

  • Aug 18, 2021: Freddy swung awkwardly and grimaced. It was exactly the sight the Brewers have been trying to avoid this season.  

    Aug 19-Sept 3, 2021: Freddy was on the IL with right shoulder inflammation.

  • May 24-Aug 1, 2022: Peralta was placed on the IL with a shoulder injury. 

  • Sept 9-25, 2022: Freddy was on the IL with right shoulder inflammation.