Milwaukee Brewers: Why Option Freddy Peralta?

Chase Anderson is returning to the Milwaukee Brewers lineup off of the 10-day DL. The Crew’s corresponding move was to option Freddy Peralta back to Colorado Springs.

Freddy Peralta had a phenomenal first outing for the Milwaukee Brewers on Mother’s Day. It was even more special because his family was in the stands watching him pitch.

His second outing wasn’t quite as stellar. Plus, as the most inexperienced man in the rotation, it made sense to ship him back to Triple-A.

Against the Rockies

Freddy Peralta was outstanding against the Colorado Rockies. He fanned 13 batters in his 5.2 innings of work. He only gave up one hit and walked two batters, starting him off with an ERA of 0.00.

Of his 98 pitches in this game, 90 of them were fastballs. The strategy is probably okay at the Triple A level, but in order to have continued success at the major league level, he needed to work on incorporating more of his other pitches.

Against the Twins

This game was a completely different story for Peralta. In his four innings, he threw 82 pitches, just over half of which were strikes.

Within those four innings, he also walked six batters, and he struck out only five. He only gave up three hits, but it was not his best showing.

In this game, it seems like he threw less fastballs. By a ballpark estimate based on Fangraphs percentages, he threw 67 fastballs, 1 changeup, and 14 sliders. That means he tried to move away from solely throwing fastballs. He doubled the number of sliders that he threw in his first outing. It is evident that he is not as confident in his offspeed pitches.

Moving away from the fastball wasn’t necessarily what led to all of the walks, but it could have been a part of why he struggled. He also is used to pitching in Colorado, so that could have been a factor as well.

Fortunately for the Milwaukee Brewers, their relief staff is strong, and they were able to pick up the last five innings. The combined work of Dan Jennings, Jeremy Jeffress, and Josh Hader was enough to help their squad to a victory.

Will Peralta see more time this season?

It’s a possibility. After his first outing, there was no way the Milwaukee Brewers could make a case for sending him back down. Based on his second go-around, it is obvious that he still has some things he needs to work on. That being his slider and his changeup.

Next: Should Jesus Aguilar start at first base?

Especially if there are more injuries in the starting rotation, (fingers crossed there are not) he may once again get the call. If he keeps playing well, he has a bright future in the Majors. He just needs to work on developing and becoming more confident in his off speed options. With a little more experience, he will have a lot of success with the Milwaukee Brewers.