February 17, 2022

After working out of the bullpen in 2020, Freddy Peralta was a sneaky sleeper heading into 2021. He had the strikeout upside that fantasy managers covet but he wasn't even guaranteed a spot in the starting rotation. It would be a massive understatement to say that the 25-year-old hurler outperformed his expectations. Peralta logged 27 starts (28 appearances) and posted a 10-5 record (14 quality starts) to go along with a 2.81 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 195:56 K/BB ratio over 144 ⅓ innings. He had a 2.68 xERA (95th percentile) and 3.12 FIP while generating a whopping 33.6% Strikeout Rate, 34.1% Whiff Rate, and 32.4% CSW Rate. He improved his top three offerings by increasing the velocity on his four-seam fastball and his slider while upping the spin rate on his curveball. Opponents hit just .156 (.177 xBA) off his fastball, .158 (.163 xBA) off his slider, and .122 (.167 xBA) off his curve. It was an excellent season for a pitcher that had never thrown more than 85 innings in a season. His innings limitations and higher Walk Rate (9.7%) may give some managers pause, though. The Brewers did pull him early from some starts in order to cap his pitch count and keep him fresh but if he can stay healthy, he should log 160-170 innings while eclipsing 200 strikeouts in 2022. His NFC ADP of 55 seems rich but high strikeout/low WHIP pitchers don't grow on trees. 160+ innings of high-end production (career 12.1 K/9) should mitigate his walk and innings concerns.--Jon Mathisen - RotoBaller