David Peterson. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
David Peterson‘s individual campaign has been far from straightforward, but to his credit, that has not stopped him from earning his place back in the starting rotation. The 28-year-old spent part of 2023 in the big league bullpen, a role that he was not too familiar with. Peterson thrived as a reliever, pitching to a 2.25 ERA in six appearances. That level of performance allowed him to re-establish himself as a starter, an opportunity he has certainly taken in stride over the last few weeks.
The left-handed pitcher was able to limit the damage in his start against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, surrendering three earned runs on eight hits while striking out eight across six innings. After getting an early 2-0 lead through a solo home run from Brandon Nimmo and an RBI single from Daniel Vogelbach in the top of the first, Peterson endured quite a bit of traffic on the bases. He gave up five hits across the second and third innings, as the Twins scored three runs to take the lead.
But that would be all they got off Peterson, who really settled in for the remainder of his outing. He did everything he could to keep the Mets in it, putting up three scoreless frames to complete his day. Saturday’s performance was his second quality start since returning to the rotation, with the last one coming back on Aug. 27 against the Los Angeles Angels. The former Oregon Duck is now 1-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 13 appearances since the All-Star break.
“I felt like we were able to establish [the fastball] early and use all of the offspeed pitches, including the sinker to give a different look to get back to the four-seamer,” Peterson said. “I felt like I could put the four-seamer where I wanted to and use everything else to kind of complement it.”
Peterson’s 3-8 record with a 5.34 ERA in 94 1/3 innings does not look great on the surface, but when you consider that he went back down to Triple-A Syracuse to work on some things earlier this year, it shows progression. His willingness to battle back may earn himself a place in the starting rotation to begin the 2024 season. That will depend on the Mets’ decisions in free agency, but it seems more than likely that Peterson will have a spot on the big league roster next season.
