Atlanta Braves Jace Peterson Proving That He’s A Major League Hitter
By Alex Burke
The Braves may have been blanked in the series finale with the Indians, but one player that stood out in the loss was Jace Peterson, who continued his consistent work at the plate since being called back up on June 10th.
Even though Jace Peterson struggled mightily for both the Major League squad and the Triple-A squad earlier in the year, he’s turning heads with his post-Minor League resurgence.
Wednesday’s game three against the Indians saw Peterson’s average climb to a team-high .282 after two hard-hit doubles and it may have been his most impressive game of the season taking into account who the opposing pitcher was.
Indians’ pitcher Danny Salazar is in the midst of an incredibly sharp season in which he is top-10 in the American League in Earned Run Average (ERA), Wins, Strikeouts, Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched (WHIP), and Batting Average Against (BAA). Salazar, on average, strikes out more than 10 batters per nine innings, in part due to his nearly untouchable change-up.
Leading off the first inning (on an 0-2 count, nonetheless) Peterson got a hold of Salazar’s change-up and hit it hard into the gap in right-center field, resulting in a double. Later on in the game, still against Salazar, Peterson worked the count to 3-1 and then hit another double, this time to the gap in left-center.
While Peterson’s fine-tuned swing has noticeably improved, his plate discipline has also been impressive. In the 19 games that have occurred since his return to the Major League squad (17 starts, one pinch appearance) Peterson has struck out only nine times in 75 plate appearances, an excellent strikeout per plate appearance percentage of 12%.
Next: Taken Down at Home Again
The way in which the rest of the season goes for Peterson is only speculation at this point, but he’s at least proven that he can handle being a major league hitter.