Peters enjoying the ride in pursuit of big league dream Winkler product climbing ranks in Tampa Bay Rays organization By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 4:57 PM CDT Tuesday, Jul. 18, 2023

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This article was published 18/07/2023 (1163 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The road to the big leagues can be a bumpy one, filled with plenty of potholes and unexpected detours.

Manitoba’s Tristan Peters is living proof of that. The 23-year-old outfielder from Winkler, who was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021, has had several curveballs come his way in the early stages of his career.

Moving from college ball to rookie ball to Single-A. Being traded to the San Francisco Giants organization. A promotion to Double-A. Another trade, this time to the Tampa Bay Rays. A significant injury.

“It’s been crazy, but a lot of fun,” Peters said this week. “There’s a lot of travel, and it’s just learning how to be consistent with everything. I’ve been in a lot of different leagues. Just learning how to live on the road, basically, living out of a suitcase and adjusting to higher levels of play.”

“It’s been crazy, but a lot of fun… There’s a lot of travel, and it’s just learning how to be consistent with everything.”–Tristan Peters

Peters’ current home is in Alabama, where he’s a member of the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League. Heading into action on Tuesday night, the speedy left-handed hitter had played in 44 games and was batting .245, with four home runs, 16 RBI and nine stolen bases.

On the surface, those stats may not jump off the page. It’s progress from his first stint at Double-A last season where he hit .212 with one home run and 17 RBI over 34 games while playing in the Giants farm system with the Richmond Flying Squirrels. The promotion came after he tore up Single-A, hitting .306 with seven home runs and 51 RBI in 90 games with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

“As you go up levels, I’m just realizing it’s getting tougher. I think it just takes time to adjust, to being able to hit this pitching and stuff like that,” he said.

“It’s definitely hard sometimes. You want to make the big leagues as fast as you can. And I struggle with that. So it’s definitely a situation where you gotta have patience. And just realize that it’s gonna take a little bit of time, especially if you’re not one of their top prospects. But that’s OK, too.”

This season didn’t start the way Peters would have liked, with a strained oblique (abdominal) muscle costing him more than a month of action.

“I had started swinging a heavier bat this year, and we kind of came to the conclusion that’s the reason (for the injury),” said Peters. “I noticed it while I was swinging in the cages, I think it was about our third week in. And I just felt something in there and was like ‘Oh boy, that didn’t feel good.’ So I just shut it down.”

Keeping the body fit can be a challenge when you’re playing every day, and as a position player such as Peters who is constantly on the move — both within the game itself and then from city to city during long overnight bus rides.

“Our bodies are being put to the test, no doubt,” he said.

“Our bodies are being put to the test, no doubt.”–Tristan Peters

Peters, who was selected in the seventh round by the Brewers, is thrilled to now be a member of the Rays organization. Tampa Bay might just have the best development system in all of MLB, as proven by the number of diamonds in the rough they turned into full-time gems.

“When I got traded to them I was pretty excited. I’ve seen how good they are at training guys and turning them into stars,” said Peters. “That has a lot to do with their player development side. And I’ve noticed here they seemed to be more involved with us as individuals. Like they’ll talk to you individually and they want to set goals for you. It’s been really good.”

The list of Manitobans to make it to MLB is a short one. Corey Koskie of Anola is the most recent example, playing for eight seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers before concussion-related issues cut his career short. Koskie, who will turn 50 next week, was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

Peters is one of just two current local products in MLB systems. Winnipegger Ben Onyshko, who was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 24th round in 2018, is now in his second full season of Double-A with the Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League. The left-handed pitcher has appeared in 13 games, including one start, with a 1-0 record and 6.28 ERA over 28.2 innings while also playing for Canada at the World Baseball Classic last March. Onyshko, 26, went 3-2 with a 4.36 ERA over 53.2 innings last year, all in relief.

“It’s an honour to be one of the two players (from Manitoba). It’s really cool. A lot of the pro guys from Canada mostly come out of Ontario and like B.C. and Alberta,” said Peters.

The former Team Manitoba star headed west to play for the Okotoks Dawgs Academy and was the Canadian rookie of the year and playoff MVP for the 2019 season in the Western Canadian Baseball League. Peters then went south, first with the Chandler-Gilbert Community College Coyotes in 2019 and received All-American honours in 2020. He then moved to the Southern Illinois Salukis in NCAA Division 1, hitting .355 and leading the Missouri Valley Conference in hits (77), doubles (20) and walks (46) before ultimately turning pro.

“It’s an honour to be one of the two players (from Manitoba). It’s really cool.”–Tristan Peters

Family and friends back in Manitoba regularly tune in to his games through online broadcasts while also making occasional trips down south to see him in person. Peters also has three younger brothers who are playing various levels of baseball in the province.

“Some places I’ve been in the past, like Wisconsin, were a little easier for them. It was closer. Now Alabama is a little further. They’re planning to do a road trip down here in August,” he said.

Peters is currently ranked as the 20th-best prospect in the Tampa Bay system by MLB pipeline, where he’s slowly moving up the ladder.

“They’ve got just incredible talent throughout the entire organization. And they draft good talent, too,” he said. “So it makes it a little more difficult to move up. I know some of my teammates have had difficulties with that. I think that’s where the Rays are unique. The Triple-A team could probably keep up with a big league team.”

Patience, as he’s learned, is a virtue. And Peters hopes it will one day pay off and this current journey, bumps and all, eventually takes him to his ultimate destination.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

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