Losing Ben Lively to elbow surgery back in May threw a huge wrench in the Cleveland Guardians’ plans for the 2025 season, and the team has cycled through a handful of young starters since to try to fill the void in his absence.
Lively had been a staple in the rotation since joining the team ahead of last season, and he isn’t easy to replace, though one of the team’s up-and-coming pitching prospects recently drew a comparison to him.
Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto recently wrote an article highlighting some of Cleveland’s overlooked prospects, and he shed some light on 25-year-old Austin Peterson, saying he displays a resemblance to Lively.
“I like [Austin Peterson] because he reminds me of some of the pitchers I watched as a kid. He throws and knows what he’s doing. Ben Lively was a little like that before he suffered his major arm injury early this season. Like Lively, Peterson also may end up being a late bloomer, not making the majors until his late 20s,” Pluto wrote.
Peterson was a ninth-round pick in the 2022 draft, and the results he has delivered have made it a bit perplexing that he isn’t more highly regarded as a prospect.
Peterson went 14-4 with a 2.64 ERA last season and has a 3.17 ERA this year as well, though he has scuffled a little bit since being bumped up to Triple-A with a 4.70 ERA in 12 starts.
It’s highly unlikely Peterson makes it up to the majors this year, but if he can start to produce in Triple-A like he did in the lower levels of the minors, he is certainly a name to file away for next season.
NEXT: Guardians Urged To Call Up Top Outfield Prospect
