It's hard to tell what's going to happen when a prospect makes his very first major league start, with all the pressure in the world weighing down on his shoulders. And there's even more pressure when said prospect is the No. 1 pitcher in your organization.
So when Wily Peralta took to the mound for the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night against the Marlins, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke had no idea what to expect in the first inning—a crucial beginning that could make or break Peralta's first outing with the team.
Throwing fastball after fastball, touching the mid-90's, Peralta allowed a single to start his first outing. And after getting a groundout, he walked a batter — a problem that has marred his entire season. But with two runners on, Peralta turned one of the most important plays of the game with just one out in the first inning.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a groundball, as Aramis Ramirez touched third base and launched it to Corey Hart who turned the double play, getting Peralta out of a dangerous first inning, and setting the tone for the rest of his outing.
"I think it's really important (to get that double play)," Roenicke said. You hope that first inning goes well. When we got that double play, he's like, 'Alright, I got through that,' and he started pitching really well."
From there, Peralta showed the potential that Brewers scouts have been salivating over since he was brought into the organization as a teenager. While he still walked four batters, he allowed just one earned run in his six innings on the mound. Reliever Kameron Loe would allow two of his inherited runners to score, as his box score showed two more earned runs, but Peralta was solid through six, striking out three and allowing just five hits.
It was a performance that Hart saw worth praise after the game.
"Wily was great," Hart said. "We were all kind of sad that (pitcher Mark) Rogers was done for the year, but you look to see what we got, and he did a great job and made a good impression. He'll come back with high energy and the confidence next time."
Perhaps most impressive about Peralta was his high number of first-pitch strikes, as 14 of the 17 batters he faced started with an 0-1 count. Peralta also showed off an impressive changeup all night long — a pitch that many scouts worried he couldn't employ as his third effective pitch.
And with a slider that many consider to be his out pitch on the mark, Peralta looked the part of a No. 1 prospect.
"Really happy with the way he threw," Roenicke said. "That first outing, you just don't know what's going to happen. You think it'll go one way or the other, either it goes like it did … or he gets hit around.
"Stuff was real good. Threw some really nice changeups. Threw some really nice sliders. We were all pleased with what he did."
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