BISCUITS OPENER: Peters far from home but feeling fine in Montgomery

A native of Canada, Tristan Peters has made himself a home in a Montgomery Biscuits uniform. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

How far would you travel to achieve your dream?

For Tristan Peters, it was nearly 850 miles, but the trip was well worth it.

The Montgomery Biscuits’ outfielder, knowing he was overlooked in the small town of Winkler, Manitoba, packed up his baseball gear when he was 16 years old and traveled west to play baseball -- and finish the last two years of high school -- at Okotoks Dawgs Academy, located just south of Calgary, Alberta. 

Calgary, a city of 1.3 million people, is the third largest city in Canada. Winkler, a rural community of about 14,000, was the fourth largest city in the Canadian province of Manitoba. 

“It’s definitely different,” Peters said. “Even being from Manitoba, it’s different than other Canadians, like in Toronto. Toronto is closely tied with the United States. I had to move 12 hours west of my hometown to go to a different high school just so I get more exposure.”

The move worked. Dawgs Academy, a non-profit organization committed to the development of youth and collegiate baseball in Canada, has the top training complex in the country and facilities that rival those of minor-league ballparks in America. Peters was the 2019 Dawgs Academy MVP as a senior, batting .396 with 18 doubles, 12 home runs and 44 RBIs. 

“I credit that with getting me into college, a junior college in Arizona, and that kind of opened the doors for the pro game,” he said. “My coach had played at the junior college I played at. He was really, really good, one of the best players they ever had.”

A phone call from the coach and some tape of his exploits landed Peters an offer from Chandler-Gilbert Community College in the suburbs of Phoeniz, Ariz. Switched from the infield to the outfield as a high school senior, he thrived at Chandler-Gilbert, batting .373 as a freshman and stealing 26 bases in 29 attempts. In 217 plate appearances, he struck out just 14 times.

“I had a few (collegiate offers),” Peters said. “I went on three visits. One of those was Southern Illinois. I was actually leaning toward another school and decided I would sleep the night on it. (The next morning) I was like I’m going to go to SIU. I don’t know why, I just felt more comfortable. I felt like they were going to be a real good team.”

Peters played all 60 games -- and did not commit an error all season -- in centerfield for the Salukis (40-20), which won the most games since 1990. He was drafted by the Brewers in the 2021 draft and started the 2022 season with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, batting .306 with 22 doubles. 

But in rapid succession, he found himself traded not once but twice in a matter of months. On Aug. 2, the trade deadline, he was shipped to the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Trevor Rosenthal just as the Brewers promoted him to Double-A Biloxi.   

“When I did get promoted to Biloxi, I met them in Pearl (for a game with the Mississippi Braves) and they traded me before I even played my first game,” Peters said.

Now at Richmond, he batted .212 in the final 34 games but with the Rule 5 draft protector deadline approaching, he was traded on Nov. 15 to the Rays for former Biscuit infielder Brett Wisely. 

It seemed almost as if no one wanted him. 

“I looked at it more optimistically,” Peters said. “I saw it as an opportunity. The guys I got traded for, like Wisely, is now in the big leagues. I’ve used it to build my confidence more. It definitely was not what I was expecting out of my first full season, but I’m glad it happened.”

While he doesn’t have the home run power of many outfield prospects, no one can doubt his ability. He is fundamentally sound, has above-average speed and his strikeout ratio is low.

“Tristan is an incredibly talented player,” Montgomery manager Morgan Ensberg said. “What’s unique about Tristan is he’s a very difficult out but he also makes everybody around him better. He’s a really good base runner, a really good hitter and he’s very good at defense.”  

He battled an oblique injury through the first part of the season and has only played in 20 games through mid-June, batting .257 with 19 hits, 12 walks and 17 strikeouts. 

“This league is really good for hitting,” Peters said. “There are a lot of hitter-friendly parks compared to the Eastern League with the Giants. Our field in Richmond was a graveyard. I struggled there. I think it has to do a lot with the guys on the team. I love the guys here, I’ve really connected with them. It makes me relax a little bit.”

He is projected as one of the Rays’ top minor-league prospects in the outfield, although his stock dropped a little with the injury as others with more playing time have excelled.

“We’ve got a ton of talent in this organization, even just here with the Biscuits,” Peters said. “Our outfield is very talented. But you also have to tune it out, too. You can’t complain about (a lack of opportunities) because baseball is a business that way, when you’re talking about moving up. It just motivates me to be better.”

From Manitoba to Alberta to Arizona and then to Illinois, Peters traveled thousands of miles to live his dream of playing professional baseball. Throw in the professional journey through Arizona, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Virginia and now Alabama, the 23-year-old has journeyed nearly 10,000 miles in seven years, far from his home in rural Winkler as he tries to adjust to a different environment in the Deep South.   

“It’s super humid here,” he said. “That’s been an adjustment. But I like warm weather as opposed to the cold. When the season starts, there’s still snow on the ground back home. I love the heat.”

The Biscuits open the second half of the 2023 season with a six-game series against Pensacola on Wednesday at Riverwalk Stadium. The series will culminate on Monday with the Independence Day celebration with the season’s biggest fireworks following the series finale.