Winkler slugger joins Brew Crew

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/07/2021 (1541 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ten years ago Tristan Peters never imagined his love for baseball would take him across two countries for a chance to play at the professional level.

“At that age I was just having a lot of fun. I really thought I was just going to be a pitcher the rest of my life to be honest,” said Peters, a Winkler native who eventually converted to the outfield.

“I never really thought this could be real.”

That would all change for the hurler turned outfielder when the 21 year old was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 7th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He and his family celebrated the moment together in Savannah, Ga., toasting the years Tristan spent on the road chasing what seemed like the impossible.

“It was unbelievable, I didn’t expect to be with the Brewers that early, a pleasant surprise of course,” said Peters.

“It really didn’t feel real, it was super cool to have my family here with me to watch.”

“It was hard to believe, it was pure elation is what it was,” said Jake Peters, Tristan’s father and baseball mentor.

“We always said ‘just enjoy the moment where you’re at, we don’t worry about the future’ and that’s really what’s he’s done.”

Growing up in Winkler, Tristan’s father worked with a friend in the city, Jeremy Matuszewski, to help bring baseball to the community level for their kids. After coaching Tristan from age 10 to 17, Matuszewski couldn’t believe it when one of his graduates was drafted.

“The kid is an amazing talent, he’s worked his tail off,” said Matuszewski.

“To do that out of Winkler, from a ball program that didn’t exist 15 years ago, to be one of the first players to play in Winkler, and then to have our first kid drafted, that’s pretty sweet.”

Over the course of coaching Tristan through mosquito, peewee and bantam level ball, Matuszewski could see the potential in the kid — due to his work ethic.

“This kid, you have to understand, nobody worked harder than Tristan,” said Matuszewski.

“His incredible desire to win has made him who he is.”

In addition to that drive, Matuszewski said Tristan’s power and commitment to the game was like nothing he had ever seen before.

“When you have a 13 year old kid throwing 70 mph, you’ll get everyone’s attention,” said Matuszewski.

“I used to tell him and his dad, ‘OK, we’ve got two practices and three games a week, how much more are we going to hit and throw on the side?’ Not because Jake was pushing him, it’s because that’s all Tristan wanted to do. All he wanted to do was play baseball.”

In Grade 11 Peters was accepted to the Okotoks Dogs Academy in Alberta where he would finish high school and make a connection with the coaching staff, who quickly suggested Tristan’s game was good enough for college. After two years at Chandler Gilbert Community College in Arizona, the outfielder transferred to Southern Illinois University where he impressed the coaching staff and Salukis fans across the state.

“I immediately found out it’s a lot better baseball over there and the pitching was a lot better,” said Tristan.

“That brought the competition even higher, seeing some of the best players in college baseball at the Division 1 level. I had to get better to play well.”

Outfielder hopes to start pro career with Milwaukee’s low A Carolina Mudcats

In his sophomore year, the Salukis outfielder batted .355 with six home runs, 55 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 60 games. Peters was named to the 2021 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division 1 All Midwest Regional Team.

Lance Rhodes, SIU head coach, said Peters was just as good of a college hitter as you’ll find.

“The biggest thing he has is a tremendous ability to put the barrel on the baseball,” said Rhodes.

“His batting skills are as good as any college hitter that I’ve ever coached and he does a really great job of not chasing outside the strike zone.”

Rhodes was delighted to see one of his own get the call up and would like to keep him in their system if he could.

“Ninety-eight per cent of the credit goes to him, for everything he put in and the work he did to develop his game. Hopefully we had a small hand in helping him get there,” said Rhodes.

Peters will now head to Arizona to complete a physical and sign a contract with the Brewers organization. Tod Johnson, vice president of domestic scouting for the club is eager to see their draft pick flourish in their system.

“We see Tristan as an advanced hitter with great bat-to-ball skills and advanced feel for the strike zone,” said Johnson.

“He also shows good base-stealing ability with very high success rates and the defensive ability to potentially play all three outfield spots. We are excited to add him to the organization and look forward to watching him develop.”

Peters hopes he can join Milwaukee’s low A team, the Carolina Mudcats, to work his way through the system. He is elated to represent Manitoba and will get a great deal of support from everyone he knows.

“I told Tristan when we were talking the night he got drafted that he couldn’t have gone to a better place. I hope he makes it to Milwaukee. I wouldn’t bet against him,” said Matuszewski.

jbernacki@freepress.mb.ca

@JosephBernacki