Did you know that David Peralta’s name is actually Senger Guerreiro? So it’s Senger David Peralta Guerreiro Maria Conchita Alonso. Whew. Ok, without the Maria Conschita Alonso, but it made me think of this. That’s better than Sum Ting Wong and Yu Stin Ki Pu. Anyways, his father is also named David Peralta, so I respect that he decided to go with that. I also love his back story…
He was originally a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Until he was released in 2009.
“He spent 2 1/2 years playing in independent ball, cooking fries at a McDonald’s for gas money, sleeping on an air mattress with five roommates, and never making more than $1,200 a month.” – Bob Nightengale of USAToday.com
His idol growing up was Johan Santana, but when his pitching career evaporated, his father taught him how to hit. Dayam! I think someone needs to hire David Peralta Sr. as a hitting instructor or something because David Jr. is batting .319/.366/.389 with 10 home runs, 54 runs scored, 33 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. The .319 batting average is the 12th-best in MLB.
You know what’s even crazier? Peralta is making $572,200 this season, which is the final year of a four-year $2,113,800 contract signed back in 2014. So many prima donnas would scoff at the contract now. F prima donnas! Makes me love Peralta even more. Dude hit rock bottom, worked his ass off, and is now one of the best hitters in baseball. And he probably is thankful for every penny that he’s earning.
I apologize for the sentimentality. I just watched Despicable Me and Sing with the kids.
Let’s get down to the nitty gritty for Peralta. The walk rate is only 6.1%, but he only strikes out 14.8% of the time. The swinging strike rate is a career-low 9.5% as well. Y’all know that I love to see that. The contact rates are elite: 90.6% in the strike zone is good for 38th in MLB and the 80.6% for overall contact is good for 63rd. The hard contact rate is a robust 35.4% and he’s been going up-the-middle and oppo more frequently this season.
Now, for the not so good. He’s hitting a ton of groundballs (55.6%), which has elevated the GB/FB rate to a career-high 2.19. He has been able to increase the HR/FB rate, but that efficiency could be unsustainable. The BABIP is .353, which inflates the .319 batting average. Some negative regression should be expected.
Back in 2015, Peralta hit .312 with 17 home runs, 61 runs scored, 78 RBI, and nine stolen bases in 517 plate appearances. That was good for the 55th overall player at the end of the year. He won’t match the RBI number, but that’s because he’s been batting first or second in the order. The runs scored should be bountiful, as there’s some guy named Paul Goldschmidt hitting behind him. In addition, Chase Field is one of the best hitting environments in baseball and Peralta is hitting high in the lineup.
Peralta is the 44th outfielder on the Player Rater. He’s owned in 97% of RCLs and 39.5% of ESPN leagues. Good job Razzball Nation!
Peralta is not sexy and won’t carry your squad. What he will do is provide a little across the board and give you the feels rooting for him.
VERDICT
That’s a bull snake for those that were wondering. Bear or Bull? Bull? Diamondback? Snake? Yeah? Nay? I will go jump in front of a bus now.
