D.J. Peterson

Douglas Anthony Peterson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• School University of New Mexico
• High School Gilbert (AZ) High School

• Born December 31, 1991 in Scottsdale, AZ USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder D.J. Peterson was selected by the Seattle Mariners and scout Chris Pelekoudas in the 33rd round of the 2010 amateur draft. However, he did not sign, opting to attend the University of New Mexico instead. He was selected in the first round of the 2013 amateur draft, 12th overall by the Mariners, and became the highest pick ever out of UNM. His brother Dustin Peterson was taken in the second round as well. D.J. soon signed for a bonus of $2,759,100 and made his pro debut with the Everett AquaSox on June 19th, going 0-for-3 against the Tri-City Dust Devils.

His career was derailed just after it had started when on August 22nd, he was hit by a pitch in the face in a game for the Clinton LumberKings against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The opposite pitcher was Jorge López, who went on to a long major league career. He was hitting .303 with 15 homers in 55 games between Everett and Clinton at the time.The injuries almost put an end to his career there and then, as hospitals in Clinton could not deal with the extent of his injuries and he had to be transfered to the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City, IA, accompanied by Alvin Davis, who was a minor league instructor for the Mariners at the time. He received emergency surgery, his jaw was wired shut and he was flown to Seattle, WA for more medical work as he had suffered multiple fractures in his jaw. In all, it took six surgeries to reconstruct his chin. He could not eat solid foods for two months and lost 30 pounds in the ordeal. Yet he managed to make it back to the field for the start of the next season.

In 2014, he got off to a great start with the High Desert Mavericks of the California League, batting .326 in 65 games to earn a promotion to the Jackson Generals of the AA Southern League, where he hit .261 in 58 games. Overall, his batting line was .297/.360/.552 in 123 games, and he was back to being a top-rank prospect. But his career stalled after that. In 2015, he reached AAA briefly with the Tacoma Rainiers but overall had a disappointing season with Jackson, batting just .224 in 93 games, with 7 homers. He had become skittish about standing close in the batter's box and pitchers had learned to exploit this by pitching him inside. He did better in 2016, batting .264 with 19 homers and 78 RBIs between Jackson and Tacoma, but did not get a chane to take the next step. In 2017, he hit .264 with 12 homers in 103 games for Tacoma and was released, finishing the season with the Charlotte Knights, in the Chicago White Sox organization, where he hit .198 in 25 games.

He became a baseball wanderer after that, with a season in the Cincinnati Reds system with the Louisville Bats in 2018, batting .277 with 16 homers and 52 RBIs in 113 games. In 2019, he was back at Charlotte but was cut after hitting .195 in 38 games and finished the yeat in the Atlantic League with the Sugar Land Skeeters, where he batted .275 in 26 games. He had consulted a sports psychologist after being released by Charlotte, and it had helped him to finally clear his mind and recapture the form that had made him a top amateur player. He played for Sugar Land in the temporary Constellation Energy League during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, while otherwise working for U-Haul to make ends meet, which convinced him that he still wasn't ready to quit baseball. After a stint in the Mexican Pacific League the following winter, he wound up back in the Atlantic League with the Lexington Legends in 2021 (Sugar Land was no longer an option that year, having integrated the affiliated minors in the meantime). He hit .311 in 45 games and moved to another independent team, the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association, batting .372 in 31 games. His combined line in 76 games that season was other-worldly: .336/.431/.740, with 29 homers and 81 RBIs. That caught the attention of the Colorado Rockies who signed him to play for their AAA affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, in 2022.

Further Reading

• Anthony Castrovince: "D.J. Peterson is a baseball survivor", mlb.com, August 17, 2022. [1]

Related Sites

• University of New Mexico bio