McFarland: Peters switch to “puck knob” bat helped batting resurgence in 2023
Okotoks Dawgs alum Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) batted .276 with a .361 on-base percentage in 93 games with the Tampa Bay Rays’ double-A Montgomery Biscuits in 2023.
*This article was originally published on Alberta Dugout Stories on January 8. You can read it here.
January 9, 2023
By Joe McFarland
Alberta Dugout Stories
When he looks back on 2023, Tristan Peters says it was a good year, but he believes he can have an even better one.
The Winkler, Manitoba native seems poised for another jump in his professional baseball journey, potentially setting himself up for a Major League Baseball (MLB) call-up, after what can only be described as a whirlwind last 12 months.
Peters was invited to MLB Spring Training 2023 with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he landed after being drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2021, then traded to the San Francisco Giants and again to the Rays in 2022.
“I had a really good spring training and, going into the season, I had some pretty good confidence,” the Dawgs Academy grad told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. “I started pretty good and then just struggled for a while.”
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Listen to Alberta Dugout Stories interview Tristan Peters here.
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Known for being a strong hitter everywhere he has gone, Peters entered June with a .289 batting average but saw it plummet to .211 by July 3.
Little did he know, some Canadian solutions would help him solve his batting dilemma.
THE PUCK KNOB
After going hitless in six out of seven games, Peters says he had a conversation with his hitting coordinator and strength coaches to figure out what was going on.
One of the things they noticed was that his bat speed was down considerably, so they looked at a different strength program and altering his nutrition regime to gain some weight.
Then Peters told them about how he didn’t get fitted for a bat like other minor leaguers did because he was in big league camp.
“They were like, ‘Dang, that’s a heavy bat,’” the former Okotoks Dawgs outfielder laughed. “They weighed it – it was a huge process.”
In the meantime, the 2019 Western Canadian Baseball League Rookie of the Year and Playoff MVP started looking at other bats.
“I tried out this bat that I’d seen players using – it’s called a puck knob and it has a bigger knob at the end as a counterweight,” said Peters, who also played hockey as a youngster. “My bat speed went up about 10 miles an hour.”
While the team was hoping he would get more home runs out of his recovered bat speed, the Chandler Gilbert Community College and Southern Illinois product actually started making more contact, and by July 25, his batting average was back up at .272.
Peters then went on a tear in August, hitting .343 with a home run and 17 runs batted in, and was named MiLB Player of the Week and Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Week mid-month.
He ended the year with a .275 average with seven homers, 46 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 93 games.
THE MAPLE TREE
The offseason has also provided Peters with an opportunity to find a bat that is truly his own.
He says he was able to test out six different sticks and found one through Marucci that he liked the best, which he felt allowed him to hit the ball the hardest and most often.
“I think it’s going to be a huge boost in confidence and it suits me so much better,” the Savannah Bananas alum said. “I don’t feel like I’m swinging a log.”
Interestingly, the new bat also has another tip of the cap to Canadiana.
Peters says he had been using a birch wood bat, which is softer, and he has switched to the harder maple wood bat, which he hopes will provide him with more exit velocity.
“I’m excited to start using it,” he added.
“I think it will improve my game and the biggest thing is the mental side of it, improving my confidence and just being consistent.”
Peters says his mental game was also challenged by the struggles at the plate, as well as an injury (oblique strain) which he believes was also caused by the bigger bat.
The stint on the injured list was a first for him, but he says it was a learning experience that he will be able to take with him going forward.
BIG ASPIRATIONS
Armed with the new twig, Peters says the Rays are happy with his swing and the amount of contact he’s getting.
So, instead of focusing on baseball during the offseason, he’s been in the gym five days a week working solely on weight training.
Standing 5-foot-11 and weighing in during the season at 180 pounds, Peters says he has bulked up to nearly 200 pounds, and is hoping to hit 205 by Spring Training 2024.
“I’m working on getting bigger and stronger so I can get a few more homers,” he said. “It’s very valued in baseball nowadays, but I also want to keep my contact percentage up, and that’s my play style, too.”
Peters hopes his second-half performance, along with the work he puts in during the offseason, will earn him a spot with the Rays’ triple-A affiliate, the Durham Bulls.
“I think there’s a good chance of that, but I also don’t want to get my hopes up too high,” he said. “That kind of puts me in a bad spot mentally, so I’m trying to be prepared for anything, as I’ve learned that anything can happen.”
Peters also acknowledges that the talent and quality of pitching will get better as he rises up through the ranks, but he’s confident he can make the transitions.
He says the Rays are good at personalized development of their prospects and encouraging healthy competition within the organization.
If Peters continues along his current trajectory, he has lofty expectations of himself sooner rather than later.
“My goal by the end of the year would be to get called up and have my MLB debut this year,” he stated. “It might be ambitious, but I don’t think you get anywhere without ambition.”
If 2023 was a good year in Peters’ mind, achieving his goals in 2024 would definitely make it better.