Sunday Notes: Tristan Peters Has Been a Pleasant Surprise on the South Side

Tristan Peters was a 22-year-old San Francisco Giants outfield prospect when he was first featured here at FanGraphs in August 2022. Drafted in the seventh round the previous year out of Southern Illinois University, he had recently been acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers at the trade deadline in exchange for Trevor Rosenthal. His profile was modest. While he possessed potential, Peters was nonetheless unranked, with plenty of raw edges to be smoothed out if he hoped to one day reach The Show. It took time, but his once-raw tools are now are shining brightly on Chicago’s South Side. Now with his fourth organization — the White Sox purchased his contract from the Tampa Bay Rays over the offseason — Peters is thriving to the tune of a .279/.344/.468 slash line, a dozen home runs, and a 128 wRC+ over 408 plate appearances. Moreover, he went deep for the fifth straight game on Thursday, tying a franchise record held by seven other players. Munetaka Murakami is among them, having turned the trick back in April. The developmental strides Peters has made since we spoke four years ago this month? Peters told me that there have been “tons,” with defense standing out as an especially meaningful area of improvement. On the offensive end, he has made adjustments to his lower half, putting him “in a better position to swing,” thus allowing him to be “more powerful.” His future was in doubt as recently as December. Nine days before Christmas, the 26-year-old native of Winkler, Manitoba was designated for assignment. Not surprisingly, he found himself not only wondering where his baseball journey would take him next, but also if a big-league uniform was part of that equation. “I kind of did,” Peters admitted. “I mean, I’d just debuted with the Rays — that was on August 8 of last year — but it was for only four games [and a dozen hitless plate appearances]. When I got the news that I had been DFA’d, it was kind of, ‘Wow. OK.’ I didn’t have much of an opportunity there, so it was discouraging at first. But then after the process, when I got traded over here, it gave me confidence knowing another team wanted me.” And not just any team. It was the one now on track to become the first in MLB history to reach the postseason after losing 100-plus games in each of the previous two seasons. Peters brought up the magic therein when asked if he could explain his own breakout. You Aren't a FanGraphs Member It looks like you aren't yet a FanGraphs Member (or aren't logged in). We aren't mad, just disappointed. We get it. You want to read this article. But before we let you get back to it, we'd like to point out a few of the good reasons why you should become a Member. 1. Ad Free viewing! We won't bug you with this ad, or any other. 2. Unlimited articles! Non-Members only get to read 10 free articles a month. Members never get cut off. 3. Dark mode and Classic mode! 4. Custom player page dashboards! Choose the player cards you want, in the order you want them. 5. One-click data exports! Export our projections and leaderboards for your personal projects. 6. Remove the photos on the home page! (Honestly, this doesn't sound so great to us, but some people wanted it, and we like to give our Members what they want.) 7. Even more Steamer projections! We have handedness, percentile, and context neutral projections available for Members only. 8. Get FanGraphs Walk-Off, a customized year end review! Find out exactly how you used FanGraphs this year, and how that compares to other Members. Don't be a victim of FOMO. 9. A weekly mailbag column, exclusively for Members. 10. Help support FanGraphs and our entire staff! Our Members provide us with critical resources to improve the site and deliver new features! We hope you'll consider a Membership today, for yourself or as a gift! And we realize this has been an awfully long sales pitch, so we've also removed all the other ads in this article. We didn't want to overdo it. “I think a lot of it is the extended opportunity,” reasoned Peters, whose 3.8 WAR ranks second on the club behind Miguel Vargas’s 4.5. “I also have the team to thank. The environment here is really amazing. It helps players thrive, to play their best. We’re a young team and we’re having a lot of fun together. Everybody looks forward coming to the park every day. Playing in the big leagues is already fun, and being with this special group makes it 10 times more fun.” ——— RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS Matt Carpenter went 12 for 44 against Travis Wood. Woody Woodward went 1 for 1 against Pat House. Casey Stengel went 2 for 3 against Charlie Boardman. Grover Land went 3 for 14 against Eddie Plank. Lou Brock went 4 for 4 against Rick Sawyer. ——— Franco Aleman reached The Show this season after toiling for five years down on the farm. He did so with a deep appreciation for baseball in his homeland. A 10th-round pick in 2021 out of the University of Florida, the 26-year-old Cleveland Guardians right-hander was born and raised in Yaguajay, Cuba before moving to Tampa with his family at age 11. I asked him about his heritage when I visited Progressive Field earlier this month. “When I play, I still think I’m a little kid,” said Aleman, who debuted in May and has since logged a 3.38 ERA and a 3.73 FIP over 18 MLB appearances comprising 18-and-two-thirds innings. “Thinking back to my years in Cuba, you’d get out of school and everyone would go to the park. It wasn’t organized, but it was always fun. In Cuba, the culture for the game is strong, the love for the game is strong. I’ve carried that all my life.” Aleman added that he hails from the same town as the Gurriels, and thus has always looked up to Cuba’s most storied baseball family, from legendary patriarch Lourdes Gurriel Sr. on down. As you might expect, he counts pitchers among his heroes as well. “The main reason I went to [Braulio Alonso High School, in Tampa] is because José Fernández had graduated from there,” Aleman explained. “He had been drafted a few years earlier and was Rookie of the Year. I actually got to work with Orlando Chinea, who was José Fernández’s pitching coach. He also coached Lance McCullers Jr. They grew up together in Tampa.” “The pitching coach I’ve been working with since 2017 is Antonio Romero,” Aleman went on to say. “He played in the Cleveland system, and before that he played for Industriales, which is essentially the Yankees of Cuba.” The 6-foot-6 righty counts current Cuban-born big-leaguers among his off-season workout partners, Yordan Alvarez and Adolís García among them. He has also trained with 18-year-old Joseph Contreras — the son of Las Martinas native and former MLB All-Star Jose Contreras — who represented Brazil (his mother’s homeland) in this year’s WBC. “There is a lot of good young Cuban talent in the Tampa area,” Aleman explained. “The Cuban niche, the Cuban group and its culture, is strong. It is strong everywhere.” ——— A quiz: Four players have hit 200 or more home runs at Wrigley Field. Who are they, and which of them has had the most? Bonus quiz: Who has homered the most times at Wrigley Field as a visiting player? The answers can be found below. ——— NEWS NOTES Dan Hasty, who has served as the play-by-play voice of the Midwest League’s West Michigan Whitecaps for each of the past dozen seasons, announced this week that he will be stepping down at the conclusion of the current campaign to pursue other opportunities. A graduate of Central Michigan University, Hasty has filled in for Dan Dickerson on a handful of Detroit Tigers radio broadcasts. Jody Davis and Jon Lester are being inducted into the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame today. Davis caught for the Cubs from 1981-1988, crushing 122 home runs, capturing a Gold Glove, and earning two All-Star berths along the way. Lester logged 174 wins — three of them in the postseason — during his 2015-2019 tenure on the North Side. Rich Rowland died earlier this month at age 62 (per John D’Acquisto at Baseball Player Passings). A catcher from Cloverdale, California, Rowland played for the Detroit Tigers from 1990-1993, and for the Boston Red Sox in 1994 and 1995. All told, he appeared in 98 games and logged 49 hits, nine of which left the yard. Larry Christenson, a right-hander who pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1973-1983, died Friday at age 72. The native of Everett, Washington went 83-71 with a 3.79 ERA over 1,402 innings with his best season — at least in terms of won-lost record — coming in 1977 when he finished 19-6 with a 4.06 ERA. ——— The answer to the quiz is Sammy Sosa (293), followed by Ernie Banks (290), Billy Williams (232) and Ron Santo (212). The visiting player with the most home runs at Wrigley is Willie Mays, with 54. ——— Last Sunday’s column included Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo opining on the opposing team that has most impressed him so far this season. Today we’ll hear from Chicago White Sox skipper Will Venable, to whom I posed that question to a few days ago. “The Red Sox were the toughest to beat,” replied the Manager of the Year candidate, whose first-place squad was swept by Boston in early July, and again early this month. “That first series, I think we caught them right in the middle of their really hot run where they won a bunch in a row. You felt like, ‘Wow, that’s a good team.’ You’re maybe also thinking that you caught them at the wrong time, but then we went to Fenway and they were so good. They did many underlying things really well. They were just incredibly hard to beat, and we obviously weren’t able to beat them.” Asked to elaborate on what the Red Sox did well, Venable cited the way they were able to make swing decisions, attack certain parts of the zone, and efficiently move up 90 feet on the bases. “Things that winning teams do,” he stated. “They did them very well.” ——— Unlike Venable and Lovullo, Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker shied away from praising a specific team. “In the major leagues, everybody is pretty good,” Schumaker said to my question. “That’s the reality. We just got our butts kicked by the A’s in Sacramento, and in L.A. we lost three out of four [against the Angels]… There are just a lot of good teams. That’s the truth.” ——— FOREIGN AFFAIRS The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks boast NPB’s top record at 72-43-2. Moreover, their plus-180 run differential is far and away the best among the 12 teams in Japan’s top league. The Hanshin Tigers, who have a record of 66-49-1, are next best at plus-69. Do Yeong Kim has a KBO-best 39 home runs to go with a .303/.404/.638 slash line and a 165 wRC+ over 505 plate appearances for the Kia Tigers. The 22-year-old third baseman had 38 homers and a 168 wRC+ in his 2024 MVP season, then was limited to just 30 games last year due to injury. Adam Walker is 23-for-82 (.281) with six home runs since joining the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys a little over a month ago. The 34-year-old former MLB farmhand — he was mostly in the Minnesota Twins system — had spent the last four-plus seasons in NPB. Yurisbel Gracial had an impressive Mexican League season at age 40. Playing for Conspiradores de Queretaro, the native of Guantanamo, Cuba crushed 24 home runs while putting up a .308/.366/.630 slash line over 303 plate appearances. Gracial’s long professional career has seen him play for the Cuban National Team and capture MVP honors in the Japan Series. ——— Chase Burns is having a dominant season while relying heavily on his fastball (56.1% usage) and slider (38.6%). The 23-year-old Cincinnati Reds right-hander also has a changeup in his arsenal, but it is largely an afterthought. He’s thrown it just 5.6% of the time. This infrequently-used offering is not, as I’d believed it to be, a kick change. “I was throwing one in spring training, but over the season I’ve kind of changed and went back to my regular changeup grip,” Burns told me on Friday. “I like to tweak my changeup quite a bit. I’ve gotten some perspectives on it, and while it was a kick-change at first, over time this year the grip has changed a little bit. “I just have a better feel for [the old one]” added Burns, who boasts a record of 14-3 to go with a 2.77 ERA and a 3.11 FIP over 139-and-two-thirds innings. “I think there are better metrics on it, too. The kick-change, I had to throw too hard and sometimes I would cut it.” ——— FARM NOTES Jacob Lombard is 14-for-63 (.222) with three home runs, 11 walks, and 29 strikeouts for the Low-A Jupiter Hammerheads. The 18-year-old middle infielder, and son of Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard, was drafted 14th overall this summer by the Miami Marlins out of Pinecrest, Florida’s Gulliver Preparatory School. Carsten Sabathia III is 18-for-49 with (.367) with three home runs, six walks, and 10 strikeouts for the Low-A Wilson Warbirds. The 22-year-old first baseman, and son of Hall of Fame hurler CC Sabathia, was drafted in the 20th round this year by the Milwaukee Brewers out of the University of Houston. Eric Bitonti has 24 home runs and 22 stolen bases to go with a .274/.393/.537 slash line and a 133 wRC+ over 451 plate appearances with the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The 20-year-old corner infielder was drafted 87th overall in 2023 by the Brewers out of San Bernardino, California’s Aquinas High School. Davis Polo has a record of 8-5 to go with a 3.18 ERA, a 3.82 FIP, and a 26.5% strikeout rate over 104-and-two-thirds innings between Low-A Augusta and High-A Rome. The 21-year-old right-hander from Cali, Colombia is ranked 24th in the Atlanta Braves system with a 40 FV. ——— A random obscure former player snapshot: Don Werner played cameo roles on the “Big Red Machine” teams that captured back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. A native of Appleton, Wisconsin, Werner appeared in 10 games across the two campaigns, coming to the plate 14 times and notching three hits. He was later part of a no-hitter. On June 16, 1978, Werner was squatting behind the dish at Cincinnati’s Riverfront when Tom Seaver threw the only no-no of his Hall of Fame career against the St. Louis Cardinals. The right-handed-hitting backstop had a pair of highlights in 1977. Despite seeing action in just 10 games, and logging only four hits, he left the yard twice. Over a three-day span in September, Werner launched home runs — the only ones on his big-league ledger — off of San Francisco’s Bob Knepper and San Diego’s Bob Owchinko. All told, Werner went 49-for-279 while playing parts of seven seasons, the last two with the Texas Rangers. He later coached and managed in the minors. ——— LINKS YOU’LL LIKE The Athletic asked 100 MLB players about the toll of legal gambling, including the threats, DMs, and encounters. Zack Meisel has the story. MLB.com’s Sarah Langs presented us with six fun facts about the Chicago Cubs’ 150th anniversary, which is being celebrated at Wrigley Field this weekend. Louisville Public Media’s Giselle Rhoden told of how the Triple-A Louisville Bats are paying homage to a 1930 Negro League team with Black Caps jerseys. Atlanta Braves prospect Eric Hartman is the first minor-league to surpass 25 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season since Andruw Jones in 1995. Allison Mast wrote bout the 20-year-old outfielder from Okotoks, Alberta for MiLB.com. ——— RANDOM FACTS AND STATS The team with the youngest average age on their current MLB roster is the Washington Nationals. The next youngest are the St.Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins. The six-run lead the San Francisco Giants squandered in their 10-9 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday was the largest in franchise history. Conversely, it was the Reds’ largest final-inning comeback win since they rallied from six down against the Chicago Cubs on May 8, 1958. Texas Rangers batters hit 56 foul balls while outscoring the Chicago White Sox 11-2 on Monday. The most-in-the-majors-this-season total contributed heavily to ChiSox hurlers’ combining to throw 214 pitches. (Hat tip to Rangers broadcaster Jared Sandler for the tidbit.) Derek Jeter had 12,602 plate appearances and 39 intentional walks. Barry Bonds had 12,606 plate appearances and 688 intentional walks. On today’s date in 1993, Rick Wilkins launched a walk-off grand slam to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 10-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Dan Plesac, whose 1,064 appearances are seventh-most all-time, got the win in relief. Kirby Puckett went 6-for-6 with a pair of home runs to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 10-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on today’s date in 1987. A day earlier, the Hall of Fame outfielder went 4-for-5 with two round-trippers in a 12-3 Twins win over their AL rivals. Players born on today’s date include Ricky Seilheimer, a catcher whose MLB career comprised 21 games, and 11 hits in 52 at-bats, for the Chicago White Sox in 1980. Drafted 19th overall the previous year out of a Brenham, Texas high school, Seilheimer took Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins deep for his lone home run. Pitching on his birthday on today’s date in 1918, Pol Perritt out-pitched Jack Coombs as the New York Giants edged the Brooklyn Dodgers by a score of 1-0. Time of game was 0:56. Ed Hobaugh hit his lone big-league home run in the last of his 62 career plate appearances. A right-handed pitcher who didn’t record a decision that season, the Kittanning, Pennsylvania native left the yard for the Washington Senators in a September 2, 1963 game against the Indians at Cleveland Stadium. Later that month, Hobaugh fanned the final two batters he faced in a career that saw him go 9-10 with a 4.34 ERA over 211-and-two-thirds innings. Another fun September 2 tidbit. On that date in 1962, left-hander Sam McDowell both started and finished the game for the Cleveland Indians, but didn’t throw a complete game. “Sudden Sam” moved from the mound to first base for three batters in the seventh inning, then returned to pitching duties in the eighth. Tagged with the loss, McDowell’s record dropped to 19-9 on the season.