The Philadelphia Phillies are bringing aboard an interesting right-hander this offseason, signing former A’s pitcher Colin Peluse to a minor-league deal, and assigning him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley according to the MiLB transaction log.
The A’s selected Peluse in the ninth round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest, and he began his pro career with the Vermont Lake Monsters, a now-defunct minor-league team following the contraction of some of the minor leagues in 2021.
He spent his first three pro seasons (through 2022) working primarily as a starting pitcher, though he switched it up to mostly relief work in 2023. This past season was the first year in which he did not start or open any game, working exclusively out of the ‘pen.
The big issue for Peluse has been lackluster results when he’s in Triple-A. He made it to Double-A pretty quickly, getting 15 innings of work there in 2021, and then he made 23 appearances (21 starts) for Double-A Midland the following year, holding a 5.38 ERA across 118 2/3 innings.
He got a coup of coffee in Triple-A Las Vegas that year and gave up seven earned runs over 1 2/3 innings. No big deal. It happens to guys in their first taste of Triple-A all the time.
In 2023 he spent the whole season with Vegas, making 42 appearances (5 starts), covering 65 innings of work and holding a 6.78 ERA. He was striking out 16.5% of hitters and walking 12.1% of them, while also giving up a ,311 batting average against with a 1.88 WHIP.
The icing on top was that he allowed 20 home runs. That all said, the PCL is a hitter-friendly league, but the numbers are still pretty awful across the board.
The good news here is that he’s pitched better the past two seasons, but nearly all of those innings have come back at Midland. As a relief pitcher with the RockHounds, he has posted a 2.05 ERA while striking out 20.9% and walking 7.5% of batters in 2024, and then followed that up with a 2.64 ERA with a 22.9% strikeout rate to go along with a 5.1% walk rate in 2025.
For Philadelphia, this is an interesting flier pickup for them. It’s a minor-league deal, so there is no risk whatsoever, but he has shown that he can be successful in Double-A, while struggling with his opportunities at the next stop up.
The Phillies will give him a chance in a new Triple-A league (the International League), and that could be enough of a confidence boost to get his head right at the next level. It will also be interesting to see if and how the Phillies adjust his pitch mix or what they do to tinker with him in 2026.
