Kyle Peterson

[Michael Trzinski]

Kyle Johnathan Peterson was born in April 1976 in Elkhorn, Nebraska. The right-handed pitcher was named to the Nebraska All-State team for both his junior and senior years at Omaha Creighton Prep high school and signed a letter of intent to play at Stanford University. Peterson was named college baseball’s Freshman of the Year after a 10-win season. He was drafted 13^th overall in the first round by the Brewers after his junior year in the 1997 MLB Amateur Draft. Peterson finished his college career tied for second all-time at Stanford with 35 wins, third with 398.1 innings pitched, and tied for second with 363 strikeouts.

The lanky 6-foot-3 hurler played at four levels—Rookie ball, High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A—in his first two years. In 1999, he began at Triple-A Louisville, making 18 starts before getting called up to Milwaukee in mid-July. In his third start, he got his first big-league win over the Montreal Expos, pitching eight innings and allowing four hits and one walk while shutting out the Expos. Peterson had a decent season, making 17 appearances (12 starts) and posted an ERA+ of 100 and a FIP of 3.89.

Peterson was expected to be a member of the 2000 Brewers rotation, but shoulder discomfort led to shoulder surgery in early February. He returned in early August when he made three rehab starts at Single-A Beloit before moving to Double-A Huntsville. But after one start, he experienced tightness in his right forearm, and he was shut down for the season.

In 2001, Peterson was sent down to Triple-A Indianapolis to begin the season. He was called up three separate times, pitching in one game in each instance. He earned a win in May, took a tough-luck loss in June, and got shelled in what would be his final major league appearance in early July.

The next year didn’t start any better as Peterson underwent his second surgery in January and missed the whole season, after which he retired. In his short major league career, Peterson appeared in 20 games (14 starts) and posted an ERA+ of 96 and FIP of 4.05.

Since 2003, Peterson has worked as a baseball analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network.

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