MILWAUKEE — After an impressive rookie debut that stretched across five starts, Brewers pitching prospect Wily Peralta won't make his scheduled start on Tuesday night against San Diego, effectively ending his rookie season.
Peralta had left his last start, a loss at Cincinnati, with soreness in his bicep, and after throwing a bullpen on Saturday, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke decided that the young pitcher would be better off if his season was cut short by one start.
"Still a little sore, so we're not going to start him Tuesday," Roenicke said. "If there was nothing there at all, then there'd really be a serious discussion on what to do with him … It's not bad, but still having a little bit of tightness, it's not worth doing."
Peralta will end his terrific-yet-shortened rookie campaign with a 2.48 ERA, having kept his opponent to three earned runs or less in all five of his starts this season. It was a small sample size, but Roenicke seemed very encouraged by how the team's No. 1 prospect performed in a meaningful stretch of starts.
Roenicke also added that Peralta would "absolutely" be in the mix for a rotation spot next season, along with other fringe rotation candidates like Mike Fiers, Mark Rogers, and Marco Estrada. And considering Peralta's upside, a good spring training would likely ensure him one of the five spots.
"I thought (his season) was outstanding," Roenicke said. "There's not too many guys that throw the ball the way he does. ... Any time you see a guy improving that has big upside, that's something you look at the future and say, ‘This guy gets it. He's going to be around for a while.'"
While Peralta will be shut down, Roenicke also announced that fellow rookie pitcher Mike Fiers will make his final scheduled start on Sunday, despite appearing to have run out of gas in his last few starts.
The potential replacements for Peralta's Tuesday start, according to Roenicke, include Tyler Thornburg, Josh Stinson, and Livan Hernandez.
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