A.J. Hinch didn’t bring John Peck up just to plug a hole, and the rookie wasted no time showing why that mattered.
Two days after Hinch told the 24-year-old shortstop that he was “here to stay” and would get a real chance to settle in, Peck delivered the first two hits of his Major League career and drove in three runs in the Tigers’ 11-6, 12-inning win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
Detroit needed every bit of it. The Tigers had dropped the first two games of the series by a combined 26-3 and came into the finale looking for something, anything, to build on before a four-game set with the Cleveland Guardians.
Peck gave them an immediate spark in the second inning. Eduardo Valencia led off with a single, Max Clark followed with a one-out double, and Peck lined a cutter from Dean Kremer to the base of the left-center-field wall for a two-run double and a 2-0 lead.
His second hit came in the sixth, when he punched an RBI single to bring home Clark after the outfielder opened the inning with another double. That knock pushed Detroit ahead 5-1, though the bullpen later let the lead slip away in the eighth and forced the Tigers to keep grinding into extra innings.
They finally finished the job in the 12th. Spencer Torkelson broke a 6-6 tie with a two-run homer, and Javier Báez followed with a bases-clearing double to put the game away.
Peck went 2-for-5 with a run and three RBIs in only his third Major League game. For a club that had spent the first two games of the series getting overwhelmed, it was a much-needed jolt.
It’s still a tiny sample, and Detroit isn’t going to pretend otherwise. Peck finished the series hitting .222/.300/.333 across nine at-bats, and he had gone 0-for-4 in his first start Tuesday. But Wednesday was a clear response after that quiet opening stretch.
The Tigers selected Peck’s contract from Triple-A Toledo on Aug. 31. Hinch said the organization liked the way the seventh-round pick from the 2023 MLB draft had grown offensively, defended his position and carried himself with maturity.
Peck had put together a .285/.328/.511 line with 10 home runs, 17 doubles, three triples, 44 RBIs and 19 stolen bases in 58 games for Double-A Erie, which earned him a June move to Triple-A. An injury limited him to two games there before he landed on the injured list.
After a rehab assignment and a brief return to Toledo, where he went 7-for-14 with three walks and three stolen bases, Peck got the call back to the big leagues. Hinch told him not to chase perfection as he worked through the transition.
Detroit’s plan for now is straightforward: some shortstop work, some time off the bench, and the possibility of seeing him elsewhere in the infield as well. Most of Peck’s professional experience has come at shortstop, where he joins Báez and fellow 2023 draftee Kevin McGonigle in a crowded organizational picture.
The Tigers are still a long way from deciding whether Peck can be part of their starting infield in 2027. Two hits won’t settle that.
But the club promoted him for a real look, and he answered quickly. Two days after Hinch said he was “here to stay,” Peck helped fuel one of Detroit’s grittier wins in weeks.
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