With Ronald Acuna shelved for at least 10 days, the Braves promoted another rookie outfielder in his place.
Dustin Peterson, 23, received his first call up to the bigs on Monday afternoon. Manager Brian Snitker shared the move shortly after the Braves took game 1 of a scheduled doubleheader 4-3 over the Mets.
Peterson homered in Sunday’s game with Triple-A Gwinnett, his first since May 1. He hit .267 with four homers and 19 RBIs while posting a .776 OPS in 26 games with the Stripers.
» More: Ronald Acuna placed on 10-day DL
Monday marked the culmination of an adversity-ridden journey for Peterson. He may well have made the Braves roster coming out of 2017 spring training, but broke his left hand in March.
The injury limited him to 87 games in which he slashed .248/.318./.318, a notable decline from his 2016 season that won him the organizational minor league player of the year award with Double-A Mississippi.
Peterson hit .220 after the All-Star break. The Braves didn’t call him up when rosters expanded in September, and left him unprotected in the winter’s Rule 5 draft, gambling that no team wanted to place him on its 40-man roster.
“I really kicked it into gear this offseason, worked on my strength,” Peterson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in March. “I’m the strongest, fastest, biggest I’ve ever been in my life. So no complaints there. I’m healthy and trying to show them what I can do this year as a healthy me.”
Spring training gave reason for optimism as Peterson appeared to be regaining strength in his wrist. He didn’t make the Braves’ crowded outfield, and started slowly in Gwinnett.
But Peterson won International League player of the week honors near the end of April. He hit .391 with four doubles, two homers and eight RBIs from April 23-29. He had a 13-game on-base streak from April 12-27.
Peterson spent May 4 through 24 on the disabled list with a left-wrist sprain. Since his return, Peterson was 2-for-15 with a homer, three RBIs and six strikeouts.
The Braves acquired Peterson from the Padres in the six-player Justin Upton trade in December 2014.
