Peralta to be stretched out in camp again
During his three years with the Milwaukee Brewers, right-hander Freddy Peralta has performed much better coming out of the bullpen than starting games.
The numbers are indisputable. In 23 starts, Peralta has gone 8-7 with a 5.45 earned run average and 1.318 WHIP. In 43 relief appearances, he has posted an 8-1 record and 3.59 ERA with a 1.232 WHIP.
Despite those splits, the plan this spring once again is to stretch Peralta out as a starting pitcher. That way, he'll be ready if the Brewers do need him in the rotation but also prepared to pitch multiple innings out of the pen.
“We're going to take the approach we have with Freddy kind of every spring,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He's going to be a starter at the beginning of camp, and again, this gets back to this innings puzzle that we're going to be putting together throughout the season.
“I think the best way to say it is that (president of baseball operations) David (Stearns) and I talked the other day, (and) Freddy's going to pitch more innings than he ever has in a season, I think, because of just the innings puzzle (in going from a shortened 60-game season to 162 games).
“We're going to need innings from Freddy at points in the season, and so I think at the start, for sure, it makes sense to stretch him out, treat him as a starter, and as we get to opening day, we'll see where we're at and see what that means.”
The Brewers aren't ready to concede that Peralta can't be a successful starter in the majors for two reasons. He's only 24 and hasn't pitched 200 innings yet at the big-league level. Also, he developed a reliable slider last season to go with his live fastball and curveball, giving him a better repertoire.
“The best part about Freddy for this year is that slider, we're a year into it,” Counsell said. “There's no question that last year, especially in spring training, there was still a feeling-out process with it. He's past that. It's just part of his arsenal.
“It's part of what he's going to use to get hitters out. I think that the feeling for a pitch every time you throw it is what happens with a new pitch, right? He's past that. That's naturally going to make him better. He's expressed a lot of confidence in that. So, it's no longer we're trying out a new pitch. He has a slider, and he's going to use it.”
Magnetic personality
Some people just immediately fit in with the group, as if they had been there forever. Counsell said that's how it went with burly Daniel Vogelbach, who was claimed off waivers from Toronto with three weeks remaining in the 2020 season and made a big impact as the designated hitter.
“He gave us a big boost, for sure,” Counsell said. “There's energy to him. That's the great thing about him. He's got a great energy to him. Offensively, he's somebody who's always talking about at-bats and I thought that was a great vibe he created in the dugout. He's talking about his at-bats, the pitcher and other guys' at-bats.
“He likes to engage in the process of talking about hitting during games. It's great energy; that was really cool for us. And he just performed. Left-handed bat, middle of the lineup, that's a trait every team is looking for.”
Of his outgoing nature, Vogelbach said, “Something I pride myself on is smiling and trying to make other people smile. It's a tough game we play and not just the game — life. It's just trying to be happy and rub off on other people.
“But the main thing is I'm supercompetitive and I want to win, whether that be live batting practice, normal batting practice, ground balls. I'm competitive in everything and I just try to rub off on other people. That's something when I got here last September, coming into this locker room it was very ‘wanting to win' and I think that starts with ‘Couns' and (Christian) Yelich and those guys. They want to win."
One thing making Vogelbach even happier this spring is getting to wear No. 20 as he did prior to joining the Brewers. Backup catcher David Freitas had that number last year, so Vogelbach wore No. 21. Now, he's back to wearing No. 20, which allows Travis Shaw to have the No. 21 he wore in his first go-round with Milwaukee.
"Yeah, I feel normal, but it was kind of a pretty good month wearing No. 21 so I don't know,” Vogelbach said with a laugh. “I'm not like a guy that really is superstitious or anything but it actually worked out good.”
Work in progress
It's an annual joke every spring in the clubhouse that players proclaim they're in the best shape of their lives as camp begins. It has led to the acronym “BSOL” that makes everyone laugh.
Well, a year ago, Lorenzo Cain believes he did show up meriting BSOL status. Unhappy with his offensive falloff the previous season, Cain worked extra hard over the winter and showed up early to camp, raring to go.
“I did a lot more than I normally would do in an offseason as far as swinging (a bat), as far as eating healthy,” the veteran centerfielder said. “I trained a little different. I did a lot more running than I had in the past, more long-distance running than ever done in my entire career.
“Last year, I was 100% ready. I was locked in. I was waking up at 5 every morning, coming to the field, doing what I needed to do to make sure my body was healthy and ready to go. My timing in spring early on was at a place that it's never been, and I felt prepared and ready to go for a long season.”
As it turned out, all that hard work was for naught. Spring camps eventually were shut down by the growing pandemic and there was a hiatus of more than three months before teams reconvened for a three-week summer camp. After playing only five games, Cain opted out of the rest of the season and returned home.
Now, after that long absence, Cain is playing catch-up physically in the early days of camp.
“I'm trying to get back to that place,” He said. “I feel I can get there. Like I said, everyone was in a tough situation (as far as offseason training), not only me. Everyone had to deal with it, so as an athlete you don't want to make excuses. You want to go out there and just get it done. And, hopefully, I'm able to do that.”
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