There’s a lot to like about Milwaukee Brewers rookie Freddy Peralta. He knows how to pitch, moving the ball in-out-up and down, changing the eye level of the hitter, and locating well. The Milwaukee Brewers rookie features a two-seam and four-seam fastball. The former with lateral right to left cutting action boring in on lefties and away from right-handed hitters. The latter has nice rising action that seduces hitters to chase late up and out of the strike zone. His heaters don’t light up the radar gun, ranging anywhere from 90-94 mph, but finesse and good command of a curveball coming in between 78-80 mph gives him 10-16 mph differential to disrupt opponent’s timing, making hitters frequently late on modest 91 mph fastballs. You also have to love the fact he pitches for a first place team with an outstanding bullpen.
Despite everything going for the young hurler, I do have some concerns. Peralta is still essentially a 2-pitch pitcher leaning on the fastball roughly 90% of the time. I’m somewhat hesitant to endorse pitchers with such a limited repertoire. There were at least 3 warning track shots at PNC ballpark, one caught up against the wall, so only a few feet kept the stat line from being quite different. He’s a flyball pitcher so keep the potential HR threat in mind when deciding whether to invest. In short, there’s plenty to be excited about but caution is warranted. When I saw him, Peralta consistently commanded all his pitches very well, but a 6-walk effort back in May shows the volatility that often comes with inexperienced big leaguers. In 12 team leagues, I’m buying, but only with a small waiver bid, which likely won’t reel him in if star struck owners run to the wire with fat FAAB wallets and visions of 13 K’s at Coors Field in their heads.
I thought Ken Giles had issues when he punched himself in the face, then Hunter Strickland punched a wall breaking his pitching hand, leaving fantasy owners, Giants fans, and teammates in the lurch while the mercurial closer rots on the DL for the next 6-8 weeks. I don’t think owners can afford to burn the roster spot waiting for Strickland to return. The front office and coaching staff can’t be pleased and I can’t imagine them champing at the bit for Strickland to return and ‘save’ them. Sam Dyson has closer experience, but his sinker is inconsistent. Tony Watson might be their best reliever, but coaches have an allergy to letting southpaws close, so handedness alone is working against him.
Surely the hope is Mark Melancon can eventually demonstrate the ability to pitch back-to-back games and make that onerous contract less burdensome. The dark horse might be Reyes Moronta, who featured a fastball that sat between 97-98 when I’ve watched him(though his official FB average is 96.6 mph), and a nasty slider with late sinking action should continue to be a great strikeout pitch. The early season control issues are no longer a problem, with 25 strikeouts and only 4 free passes issued over his last 19 appearances. Will Smith could also be in the mix. It indeed is a mess in the short term, but with Madison Bumgarner approaching his former elite form, and Johnny Cueto due back soon, there should be a decent number of leads that need to be preserved in the 9th inning.
On the hitting side of the ledger, the window to get Kendrys Morales on the cheap may have already closed. The Cuban slugger is no stranger to disappointing seasons, and has delivered another one to fantasy owners in the first half, but he’s also produced 4 multi-hit games this week, and slashed an impressive (.400/.434/.680) over the last 14 games. As long as the hits keep coming, Morales will likely occupy the 4th or 5th spot in the Blue Jays lineup.
Follow Greg @LiquidHippo.
