Royals, Wily Peralta happy with how bullpen transition has gone so far
Wily Peralta’s transition from starter to reliever to the back end of the bullpen no longer falls into the category of an experiment. The Royals gave it a whirl last season in hopes to find another pitcher in their line of starters who could be turned into an impact reliever.
After his first season exclusively pitching out of the bullpen last year, Peralta appears to have embraced the move in every way. He moved into the closer role and converted 14 of 14 save opportunities from July 21 through the end of the season.
Peralta, who won 17 games as a starter with Milwaukee in 2014, arrived in Arizona and vowed to hit the ground running this spring training. Thus far, he’s delivered on that promise to the tune of four scoreless appearances in which he hasn’t allowed a hit (four innings, no hits, two walks, three strikeouts).
It’s not clear how the bullpen roles will be divided this season. Royals manager Ned Yost has talked about focusing on high-leverage situations more than defined roles. Either way, Peralta has settled in nicely as a reliever.
“It’s way different, so you have to come in and attack the strike zone,” Peralta said of his approach as a closer. “There’s no time to mess around because you know it’s one inning. You go all in, all that you have, trying to get three outs as quick as you can. You know probably the next day you’re going to be in the game too.”
The change in role also prompted Peralta to change his offseason preparation. He threw more bullpens prior to arriving at spring training, and he’s said that has helped him find his timing and rhythm.
In the past, Peralta’s spring training results have been less than stellar. It had almost become somewhat of a running joke because he openly discards March statistics.
Last spring, he allowed 14 runs (12 earned) in eight innings. In 2016 with Milwaukee, he gave up 23 runs (14 earned) in spring training.
“I think this spring is going to be different, I hope so,” Peralta said while chuckling back in mid-February. “I prepared myself to have a better spring.”
The Royals have a proven track record of finding relievers in starting rotations. They’ve discussed the possibility of going down that road with current starter Ian Kennedy, though that notion has been, at least temporarily, shelved.
Former Royal and current Colorado Rockies pitcher Wade Davis went from middling starter to a three-time All-Star reliever (twice with the Royals) and a postseason difference-maker. He was crucial to the Royals’ 2015 World Series title.
Davis went from posting an 8-11 record with a 5.32 ERA, a 1.67 WHIP and 7.6 strikeouts per nine in 31 games (24 starts) in 2013 to a 1.00 ERA, 0.847 WHIP and 13.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 71 relief appearances in 2014. He was even more dominant in 2015 when his ERA dropped to 0.94, he recorded 17 saves, a 0.787 WHIP and struck out 10.4 per nine innings.
Former first-round draft pick Luke Hochevar started almost exclusively in the majors from 2008-12. He made the switch to the bullpen in 2013, and he was also critical out of the bullpen during the 2015 World Series season. He made 49 appearances during the regular season, and pitched 10 2/3 scoreless innings with a 0.66 WHIP in the 2015 playoffs.
“We look at their overall stuff and know what they’re capable of at the high-end, low-end, and then evaluate — if they’re starting — where they are with that,” Yost said. “We knew that Wade probably was 96 to 98 (mph), but as a starter we saw 92. To try to blow it out just is not conducive to success as a starter when you’ve got to go out there and pitch.
“Hoch was the same way. We just knew that if you put him in a one-inning burst, where they can come in and just let it go, their stuff is probably going to jump a full grade. That’s exactly what happened.”
That still leaves the question of whether or not the pitcher can handle the difference in pressure and mindset. That’s something Yost and his staff feel like they get a sense of based on the way they pitch as a starter, and sometimes you don’t know until you see it a few times.
In Peralta’s case, Yost candidly admitted the Royals were just looking for an arm when they acquired him. They saw a veteran guy who knows how to get big-league hitters out, and they rolled the dice. So far, it looks like a wise decision.
This story was originally published March 10, 2019 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Royals, Wily Peralta happy with how bullpen transition has gone so far."
