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As expected, the Pittsburgh Pirates are shuffling their roster in hopes of giving younger players to showcase their potential on the big league roster, and one southpaw - who’s had quite a stretch of success in Indianapolis - is rumored to be called up this weekend.
Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweeted shortly after 1 o’clock today that Dillon Peters could be called up this weekend.
Per sources: LHP Dillon Peters coming up from Class AAA Indianapolis. Has a 1.50 ERA in 5 games, 2 starts for Indians. Acquired for cash from the Angels on July 19.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) August 13, 2021
The 28-year-old Peters spent just 22 days in Triple-A after being activated on July 23 and quickly made a mark with the Indians, posting an 11.25 K/9 - the highest in his career, according to Fangraphs. He also tallied a perfect left-on-base percentage, something he hasn’t done since 2017 with the Miami Marlins High-A club.
In the past, Peters was more of a ground-ball pitcher, which would’ve been acceptable by former pitching coach Ray Searage, but in 2020 with the Los Angeles Angels, he developed a knack for allowing more fly balls. Prior to last season, he had yet to post a sub-one ground-ball-to-fly-ball ratio.
This could be more of the same for the Pirates, but at least we get to see new arms instead of guys like J.T. Brubaker hang curveballs night after night.
The Pirates have yet to announce a starter for Sunday’s finale against Milwaukee, so unless Shelton plans to use him as a long reliever, it wouldn’t be farfetched to think Peters could get the nod.