One of the Cleveland Guardians' top pitching prospects will miss six to eight weeks with a triceps injury.
The Cleveland Guardians have a decent amount of starting pitching depth, but a team can never get too comfortable in this area because injuries can creep in quickly and devastate a rotation.
The Guardians aren’t at that level yet, but one of their promising pitching prospects, who could very well make his MLB debut at some point this season, just landed on the injured list.
Austin Peterson (Cleveland’s No. 30 prospect) suffered a moderate tricep strain on his throwing arm during his appearance against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The expected recovery timeline for the injury is six-to-eight weeks, which could put him at a return in mid to late April, per MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins.
In Peterson’s outing against the Dodgers, he threw 35 pitches over 1.1 innings of work, and gave up four earned runs, issued one walk, and struck out one batter.
RubberDucks starting pitcher Austin Peterson throws against the Erie SeaWolves during the first inning of Game 1 of the Eastern League Playoffs at Canal Park, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. © Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesAssuming there’s no more unexpected injuries in Cleveland’s rotation, Peterson’s absence won’t affect the team in the short-term, but it could later on in the season if there’s a delay in his rehab.
Peterson was added to the 40-man roster and protected from the Rule 5 Draft last November. The 26-year-old was never a true contender to be the Guardians’ Opening Day rotation, but he is still certain to be a contender to make a start or two later on during the 2026 campaign.
The Guardians drafted Peterson in the ninth round of the 2022 MLB Draft, and he’s put together very respectable Minor League numbers so far. The right-hander owns a 3.36 ERA with a 1.119 WHIP in 79 games (77 starts) across three Minor League seasons.
Peterson split the 2025 season between Double-A and Triple-A, logging a 3.58 ERA and 1.167 WHIP over 145.2 innings.
Hopefully, there are no setbacks in Peterson’s recovery, and he gets back on the mound in that projected timeline. Even though he may not have been in Cleveland’s early-season plans, he could very well be contributing to the big-league ball club later in the year, but that’s only if he’s healthy.
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