Cleveland Guardians talent Austin Peterson is a quick-hit artist

Austin Peterson has never tripped up any radar, even though he’s far from a soft-throwing pitcher. What the right-hander does very well is work fast and throw strikes.

The 24-year-old was generally overlooked throughout his career until this season, and in 2024 he has 102 strikeouts and just six walks in two levels of the Cleveland Guardians’ minor league system.

And you know what? He stands out.

Scouts and fans see Peterson’s 9-2 record and his 2.30 earned run average in 16 starts. What they’ve also seen – perhaps without realizing it – is the way Peterson throws as if his hair is on fire.

He gets the ball and throws it – usually somewhere near the corner of the strike zone. He doesn’t need a pitch clock. If no one is on base, the clock always starts at 15 seconds once the ball is back in the pitcher’s glove and he’s on the mound. Peterson usually throws the ball when there are 10 seconds left.

Peterson made short work of opponents all season, going 7-2 with a 2.44 ERA in 14 starts for Lake County in the High-A Midwest League. That earned him a promotion to Double-A Akron, where he was even better.

In two starts for the RubberDucks, he has 15 strikeouts with no walks. In 13 innings, he has allowed just four hits and two runs, for a 1.38 ERA. Even more impressive, he has thrown 68.3% (110) of his 161 pitches as strikes.

He got off to a poor start in Lake County, allowing seven runs on 10 hits in just 2 2/3 innings against the Lansing Lugnuts on May 17. Six days later, he went 7 2/3 scoreless innings in a no-decision game against the West Michigan Whitecaps, recording eight strikeouts with no walks and allowing three hits. That began a seven-start stint in which he allowed seven earned runs in 53 2/3 innings for a 1.17 ERA.

Not bad for a player who was signed as the 271st pick in the ninth round of the 2022 draft for $125,000. That came after two solid seasons in Connecticut and a weak first year at Purdue, where he went 1-5 in 25 games, all but one as a relief pitcher.

He transferred to Wabash Valley Community College in 2020 and was 2-0 when Covid-19 wiped out the entire college season. He wanted to go to a bigger program, but despite his 6-foot-6 size, he hadn’t really stood out.

“I just went to the D1 Baseball website and started browsing through all the conferences and put together a list of 30 schools that I thought would allow me to compete at the highest level and realistically win championships,” Peterson said Fan Nation in May 2022. “And UConn was on the list. So I thought, you know what, I really like the East Coast, so why not give UConn a chance? I sent an email to (UConn pitching coach/recruiting coordinator) Coach (Josh) MacDonald and he responded within a day and invited me to visit.”

In Connecticut, he had an 18-4 record in 31 starts and two total relief appearances in 2021 and 2022. That was enough for Cleveland to select him, even though his first professional season a year ago was not very impressive.

He had a 6-8 record and a 4.54 ERA in Lynchburg of the Class A Carolina League. He threw strikes, perhaps too many of them in the middle of the zone. He allowed 133 hits in 117 innings, walked just 27 and struck out 102.

Peterson commands a 92-94 mph fastball, a decent curve and slider, and a good changeup that has emerged as his best pitch. He said throwing his changeup and fastball to the inside corner has made a difference. All of this comes from a very fluid, easy motion that doesn’t strain his arm. He maintains a good release point, which is unusual for pitchers his size.

Another connection between Connecticut and Cleveland

In 1988, the Cleveland Indians selected a right-hander from the Connecticut Huskies with the No. 17 pick in the first round. The fact that this high-profile pick signed for $126,000—just $1,000 more than Peterson received—shows how times have changed.

Cleveland got its money’s worth with Charles Nagy.

In 1992, Nagy was an All-Star with a record of 17-9 and a 2.56 ERA. He made another All-Star appearance in 1996 when he was 17-5 with a 3.41 ERA. He was selected again in 1999 and had a record of 17-11.

That was his last good season. After throwing thousands of curveballs, his arm was a disaster. He had shoulder surgery in 1993 and recovered. He never recovered from elbow surgery in 2000. He tried not to let it show, but his numbers showed it: 2-7, 8:21 ERA in 2000; 1-4, 8.88 ERA in 2002.

After he retired following the 2003 season, I asked him what it was like throwing for the last four years without cartilage in his elbow. “Every throw hurt like hell,” he said.

He finished his career with a record of 129-105, going 8-19 over the last four years. “I love this game, I love this team and I wanted to help,” he said. “I really wanted to help Cleveland win the World Series. We’ve made the playoffs so many times and were so close in 1995 and 1997.”

How close?

Nagy was on the mound as a reliever in the 10th inning of Game 7 in Miami in 1997. The Marlins loaded the bases after a ground single, an infield error and an intentional walk. With two outs, Edgar Renteria hit a one-hopper back to Nagy. He jumped. The ball bounced off his glove and into center field for an RBI single. Series over.