The 23-year-old LHP reliever delivered a lot of hope for the Rockies bullpen in a late-July trade
Welcome to the 2024 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2024. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
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No. 11, Luis Peralta, 0.8 rWAR
If there is one area the Rockies have done fairly well in over the last two years, it’s making a few trade deadline deals to send good relievers, who happen to be a little older, and receive back younger relievers who could be the foundation of a much-improved Colorado bullpen in the future.
Enter Luis Peralta.
Following a path similar to Victor Vodnik, who’s No. 12 in our Ranking the Rockies series with a 0.8 rWAR and came to the Rockies in a trade from Atlanta for Pierce Johnson in 2023, 23-year-old LHP Peralta landed in Colorado on July 29 via Pittsburgh in a trade for 31-year-old LHP Jalen Beeks.
Though the sample size was small, Peralta flashed amazing potential after making his MLB debut with the Rockies less than a month later when he threw a hitless, walkless 1 2/3 innings with two strikeouts against the Yankees in New York. With the Rockies up 7-2 with one out and one on in the sixth inning, Peralta got two flyouts and a line out before striking out Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto.
Not a bad debut.
Peralta quickly showed the performance was not a one-off. In his first 13 appearances, he threw 10 1/3 scoreless innings, only giving up five singles and five walks while striking out 11 and tallying one hold.
He finally gave up one run against the World Series Champion Dodgers when National League MVP Shohei Ohtani led off the eighth inning of a Sept. 27 game with a double and scored on a Kevin Kiermaier single. Peralta responded by striking out Gavin Lux and Teoscar Hernández before ending the inning with Tommy Edman groundout.
Luis Peralta, the younger brother of Milwaukee ace and 2021 All-Star Freddy Peralta, finished his first MLB season with a 0.73 ERA in 12 1/3 innings over 15 appearances with 14 strikeouts, five walks, seven hits, one run scored, two holds and a 0.973 WHIP. Eight of his appearances were even at Coors Field.
Peralta averages 95 mph with his four-seam fastball, which he throws over 75% of the time. The rest of the time, he throws hitters off with a breaking ball in the low-80 mph range.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2017, Peralta seemed to be following his brother on the starter path. However, he struggled with command and wasn’t progressing in the Pirates organization from 2021 to 2023. For a more detailed breakdown of his past and abilities, check out Mario DeGenz’s deep dive on Purple Row from September.
He moved to the bullpen in 2024 and has been producing a tiny ERA ever since. He posted a 1.29 ERA in five appearances with the Double-A Yard Goats and then pitched one scoreless inning with Triple-A Albuquerque before being called up to the Rockies.
Just as Vodnik went from another team’s prospect to a key arm in the Colorado bullpen, Peralta has a chance to be a much-needed and successful asset in the Rockies bullpen for years to come.
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