DJ Peters (28), who signed a contract with Lotte ahead of the 2022 season, was a highly anticipated player. He once had a career playing in the major leagues until 2021. He did, and he had several tools to scratch Lotte’s itch.메이저놀이터
Until then, Lotte’s center field defense was weak, and as veteran players grew older, their long hitting power was declining. Peters was, in theory, the right person to solve this problem. He had great athletic ability. He was a player who could run well and hit far. The value of a center fielder who showed stable outfield defense with over 20 home runs was unimaginably great.
However, Peters ultimately fell short of those expectations. He was good as far as hitting 13 home runs in 85 games. He also showed athletic ability in the outfield. But he seldom hit the ball. He had a .228 batting average and struck out 77 batters in 85 games. Contact did not work properly. Small mistakes in his defense also stood out. Lotte, who could not stand it, signed a contract with Jack Rex and ended his relationship with Peters.
Peters was still young. After he was kicked out, he turned his attention back to America. In September, immediately after his exit, he signed a minor league contract with Washington, and again with Detroit ahead of the 2023 season. His major league contract was not guaranteed, but his return to work was quick. However, the stage he runs on and the position he jumps on are strange.
Peters started on the Triple A stage. He’s old and has some major league experience, so he’s in the right position. But after not being seen for a while, he went down to the Florida Rookie League in June. Given Peters’ career, playing in a rookie league doesn’t make sense. There was a reason. changed position. pitcher
Peters made his first appearance against Toronto on the 9th (Korean time) as part of the Detroit rookie team. He pitched 7 times behind starter Garcia (4 innings) and second pitcher Castillo (2 innings). He threw 2 innings and faced 7 batters, giving up no hits, 1 walk and 1 strikeout.
▲ Will Peters, who has shown limitations as an outfielder, find a new breakthrough ⓒYonhap News
▲ Peters recently pitched twice in the Rookie League ⓒ Lotte Giants
The ‘Tigers ML Report’, which specializes in Detroit’s minor league teams, said at the time, ‘An interesting thing happened. It appears that Detroit is attempting to turn outfielder DJ Peters into a pitcher.’ Since Peters’ conversion to pitching progressed quietly, even local professional media did not hear this news.
Maybe it’s just one appearance, but Peters pitched in another Rookie League game on the 13th. He got on the mound in the 6th inning against the Philadelphia rookie team and pitched 1⅔ innings. Although he gave up 2 runs (1 earned run) while giving up 3 walks, it is clear that he was not on the mound temporarily anyway.
He’s still young, but his pitching conversion is a gamble anyway. Peters often performed well as a pitcher during his amateur days. He was also an all-round sportsman. He might have accepted Detroit’s offer that he was more competitive as a pitcher than he was competitive as an outfielder, or he might have wanted to.
In fact, Peters’ outfield career in the United States has already been ‘estimated’ to some extent. He went to 70 games in 2021, going through the LA Dodgers and Texas. Although he hit 13 home runs, his batting average was only 0.197. He also had an on-base percentage of 0.242. He clearly has problems with contact, and in fact his defense isn’t even that good in the major leagues. It could be a move to create some electricity as a pitcher before it’s too late.
We don’t know how long Peters’ pitching days will last, but it could be a matter of if he goes back to fielding, even if he fails. It will be interesting to see how the new life will flow.