Freddy Peralta's dominant Game 2 included the literal fastest pitch of his MLB career

The Tampa Bay Rays got more than they could have asked for from Freddy Peralta in their Game 2 win over the Cleveland Guardians. It wasn’t the cleanest game, but he gave them six shutout innings while striking out six.

According to OptaSTATS, we’re seeing a historic run from the right-hander.

In each of his last 8 starts dating back to the regular season, he has allowed five hits or fewer, allowed one run or fewer and had his team win the game. This is the longest streak by any traditional starter, regular season and postseason, in the modern era (since 1901).

To translate it to some other stats, he’s had a 0.81 ERA and opponents batting .160 against him. If he’s looking to command a nice contract this winter, he’s certainly making a good a case as anybody entering free agency.

That being said, he took things a step further, and teams should pay attention to it. According to Baseball Savant, and initially reported by Running From the OPS, the 99.4 mph four-seam fastball that Peralta threw on Tuesday is the fastest of his career.

Before this, he topped out at 99.1 mph on June 6, 2024. This stat includes the postseason as well. His previous high velocity in October happened to come in his Game 2 ALDS start. The Yankees saw two 98 mph fastballs, including one that reached 98.2 mph.

At 30 years old, he’s looking the best he ever has. Age is supposed to bring down velocity. For him, it's ticking up.

Credit where it’s due to pitching coach Kyle Snyder and the rest of the coaching staff. They were able to see what wasn’t working when he was with the Mets and do more than just help him return to form.

Along the way, they were able to make adjustments that allowed him to crank up the heat.

Should it really come as a surprise? The Rays tend to know a thing or two when it comes to starting pitching. Nick Martinez had an All-Star campaign for the first time in his career this season at the age of 35.

Drew Rasmussen was a struggling bullpen arm in Milwaukee before being acquired midseason in 2021. Since then, he’s quietly risen to become one of the best starting pitchers in baseball, forcing everyone to learn his name over the past two seasons.

We could go into the history in general this team has with starting pitching - David Price, James Shields, Blake Snell, Chris Archer, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, etc. - but this current staff has plenty of examples already.

It’s a factory down in St. Petersburg. Peralta is the latest piece to go through their refurbishing sector, with spectacular results.

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