Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

How does Freddy Peralta stack up to some other jaw-dropping debuts?

When you woke up on Sunday morning, chances are you'd never heard of Freddy Peralta. Signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Mariners back in 2013 and traded to the Brewers two years later, the righty spent the last two seasons working his way through the Minors -- pitching pretty well but not grabbing much attention. The numbers were solid, but the stuff was far from overwhelming, the walk rate was sky high and Peralta's size -- he stands just 5-foot-11, 175 pounds -- made scouts skeptical. MLB Pipeline had him as the No. 9 prospect in Milwaukee's system, and he didn't sniff any Top 100 lists.
Of course, one day later, everybody knows his name:

Peralta made his big league debut against the Rockies on Sunday (at Coors Field, no less!) and had a day for the ages: 5 2/3 innings, one hit, two walks and a whopping 13 K's, the third-highest total ever in a pitcher's first career start. Even better? His mom was in the house for Mother's Day.

It was a fairy-tale day -- Peralta even nearly had his teammates in tears -- but it got us thinking: Which notable debut start is the best historical comparison? We've assembled some notable examples below.
Stephen Strasburg
Arguably the gold standard for big league first impressions. Strasburg took the mound at Nationals Park with the weight of generational hype on his shoulders, and he somehow managed to exceed everyone's expectations:

But while Strasburg's outing was similar to Peralta's -- he allowed four baserunners to Peralta's three, while striking out 14 -- the two had drastically different feels. Strasburg was a No. 1 overall Draft pick and once-in-a-lifetime pitching prospect fulfilling his destiny, whereas Peralta managed to sneak up on just about everyone.
Matt Harvey
Speaking of highly anticipated power pitching prospects: The Mets called Harvey up in 2012 after taking him No. 7 overall in the 2010 Draft and watching him promptly tear through the Minors. He didn't disappoint:

Harvey even went 2-for-2 at the plate, but still, he didn't quite match Peralta, walking three and allowing three hits over his 5 1/3 innings of work. We need someone who went a bit deeper and was a bit more dominant. Someone like ...
Johnny Cueto
Cueto made his debut against the D-backs on April 3, 2008. To give you an idea of just how long ago that was, here's what he looked like back then, sans dreads:

He hadn't developed the shimmy yet -- that's the kind of move that only veteran panache can provide -- but otherwise he was vintage Cueto: seven innings, one hit, one run, 10 K's. He took a perfect game into the sixth, where the only blemish came via a Justin Upton homer:

Here we find a pretty neat match: Cueto went a bit deeper into the game and surrendered only one baserunner, but Peralta struck out three more batters -- game score has them dead even at 81.
And more broadly, Cueto's story bears a bit of resemblance to Peralta's. Both were signed out of the Dominican Republican as teenagers and methodically worked their way through the Minors. And despite consistent success, both were a bit wiry at 5-foot-11 and had to deal with concerns about their size. Of course, Peralta would be pretty happy if his career unfolds the same way.

BarberJordan
beephero
AP_702417634020
NYC