Milwaukee Brewers: The Debut of Fastball Freddy

DENVER, CO - MAY 13: Starting pitcher Freddy Peralta #51 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on May 13, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - MAY 13: Starting pitcher Freddy Peralta #51 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on May 13, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Milwaukee Brewers top prospect Freddy Peralta threw very well during his Mother’s Day debut. The day after is what makes that success more interesting.

Freddy Peralta threw a total of 98 pitches across 5.2 innings. He struck out an astounding 13 batters without letting up a single run. How he did it is where this story gets interesting, 90 of those pitches were fastballs. He got the win for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Peralta’s Other Pitches

He does feature a changeup. However, Peralta threw that just once to David Dahl in the sixth inning. It was hit for a single. That means he threw seven sliders. But 90 fastballs in one outing is crazy. That means he used his fastball over 90 percent of the time, and was successful.

If he will be successful going forward, he will need to throw his secondary pitches more. Unless he wants a life in the bullpen, where he can get away with throwing predominately fastball. Though his success with only a fastball makes his hype even more exciting.

Freddy And The Brewers

It was only a spot start for Peralta in place of Chase Anderson, but he certainly proved that he belonged. In fact, the spot start has turned into more opportunity. He is projected to start this weekend against the Minnesota Twins.

Why Only A Fastball?

Frankly, it was working so why change it? However, he likely will not be able to do it again. His slider and changeup both grade out as above average pitches, he just needs to find the confidence in them to use more.

The other thing to think about is the fact that he throws a heavy fastball. If he were to hang a slider or changeup in Colorado, that ball will fly a long way. That is something he would have learned pitching in Colorado Springs.

Next: Chase Anderson To The DL With Illness

Peralta is here to stay in the short term and that is awesome. Prospects are exciting, and they scarcely get more exciting than Peralta. He has been killing it in the minors for a few years now, and all that culminated to a great debut on Mother’s Day in front of his parents.