David John Peterson (born September 3, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB).

Early life and amateur career

Peterson's parents, Shannon and Doug, divorced when Peterson was a child. Peterson spent much of his childhood in stables with his father, a

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

who trained the likes of

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who became the tenth winner of the American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only two horses to have won the Triple Crown while being undefeated in ...

. When Peterson was nine years old, his father died of an accidental drug overdose. Between eighth grade and his freshman year of high school, he grew ten inches. Peterson attended Regis Jesuit High School in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States Census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in ...

. In 2013, he played in the

Under Armour All-America Baseball Game The Under Armour High School All-America Baseball Game is a high school baseball all-star game held annually to spotlight the United States' top high school players who are juniors or seniors. The game is played in late July or August, at Wrigley ...

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

. Before his senior year, he broke his

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity ...

during a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

game, underwent surgery and missed his entire senior baseball season. As a result, he fell to the 28th round of the

2014 MLB Draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. Peterson chose not to sign with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and instead enrolled at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...

, where he played college baseball for the

Ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

. Peterson started 14 games as a freshman at Oregon in 2015, going 4–6 with a 4.39

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

(ERA) and 81

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

. As a sophomore in 2016, he went 4–5 with a 3.63 ERA and 61 strikeouts over 13 starts. During the summer, he played for the United States national team. Peterson became Oregon's number one starter in 2017. On March 3, he set a school record with 17 strikeouts, breaking the previous record of 14 held by Tyler Anderson. On April 29, he broke his record after recording 20.

Professional career

Peterson was drafted by the

with the 20th pick in the first round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. He signed and was assigned to the

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Islan ...

, where he spent the whole season, posting a 2.45 ERA in three games. MLB.com ranked Peterson as New York's second best prospect going into the 2018 season. He began 2018 with the

Columbia Fireflies The Columbia Fireflies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Columbia, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. Their home stadium is Segra Park. The team was previously known as the ...

and was promoted to the St. Lucie Mets in June. In 22 total starts between the two teams, he went 7–10 with a 3.16 ERA. He spent 2019 with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, going 3–6 with a 4.19 ERA over 24 starts, striking out 122 batters over 116 innings. Peterson had his contract selected to the 40-man roster on July 28, 2020. He made his major league debut on that same day, against the

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and Boston Braves (baseball), since 1953, i ...

, getting the win after pitching innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and an error with two walks and three strikeouts in 78 pitches. After the start, Peterson described it as "one of the greatest days of" his life. Peterson was placed on the 10-day injured list before his start against the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

on August 18, 2020, due to left shoulder fatigue, an issue that had arisen following his outing against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

on August 13, 2020. He returned to the active roster two weeks later and finished the season 6–2 with a 3.44 ERA over 10 games (9 starts). On July 2, 2021, Peterson was placed on the injured list with an oblique strain. On July 24, Peterson was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

References

External links

Oregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, David 1995 births Living people All-American college baseball players Baseball players from Colorado Binghamton Rumble Ponies players Brooklyn Cyclones players Columbia Fireflies players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Oregon Ducks baseball players Baseball players from Arcadia, California Regis Jesuit High School alumni Scottsdale Scorpions players St. Lucie Mets players Syracuse Mets players Sportspeople from Aurora, Colorado