Brewers Fan-Favorite Already Has Place In Milwaukee History

Despite all of the questions in the Milwaukee Brewers' starting rotation this season, one major answer has remained.

The Brewers have relied on Freddy Peralta and he has put the rotation on his back. He's the only starter for the team that hasn't missed extended time this year. Peralta has made a league-best nine starts and is off to one of the best starts of his career.

Peralta has pitched to a 2.66 ERA across a 52-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 50 2/3 innings pitched. The one-time All-Star has been dominant so far this season and is setting himself up for another All-Star nod if he can keep up this level of play.

Although the Brewers lost on Monday with Peralta on the mound, he made history, becoming just the fourth pitcher in Milwaukee history to reach 1,000 or more strikeouts in their career with the team. What makes Peralta stand out even more is the fact that he's reached this threshold than another other hurler in team history, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Curt Hogg.

"With a tumbling changeup that drew air from Cleveland Guardians second baseman Daniel Schneemann to cap the fifth inning May 12, Peralta reached the greatest individual milestone of his career to date as far as round numbers go," Hogg said. "It was Peralta's 1,000th strikeout, a number only three Milwaukee Brewers pitchers had reached before him. But none of Teddy Higuera, Ben Sheets, or franchise record-holder Yovani Gallardo reached the century mark nearly as fast as Peralta, who just went over 800 career innings in the outings."

Peralta is just 28 years old and is just over 200 strikeouts off the team record of 1,226. If the Brewers don't move him, it's realistic that he could reach this number as soon as the 2026 season.