DAVID PERALTA AND JARRETT GRUBE MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUTS SPICE WEEKEND FOR INDEPENDENTS

Independent Baseball had another magical weekend with two players getting first-time calls to the major leagues and a third receiving a one-day call, his first time back in “The Show” since 2012.

Unfortunately, there were casualties as well with Atlanta lefty Ian Thomas (Winnipeg, American Association, and York, PA, Atlantic League) and Boston outfielder Daniel Nava (Chico, CA, Golden League) once more optioned to Triple-A.

Right-hander Jarrett Grube, an Atlantic Leaguer at Southern Maryland (Waldorf) in both ’09 and ’10, and outfielder David Peralta (Amarillo, TX and Wichita, KS, American Association; Rio Grande Valley, Harlingen, TX, United League) got the exciting news of going to the majors for the first time. Grube is with the Los Angeles Angels, Peralta with Arizona.

Grube had to wait until five months shy of his 33rd birthday to make his major league debut. For now, he has to transition from being a starter to working as part of the Angels’ bullpen where he debuted with two-thirds of an inning and a home run against Oakland. He had only allowed 52 hits in 61.1 innings at Salt Lake while compiling a 3-2 record and 3.52 ERA in 11 starts, his most recent a 6.2 scoreless stint for a 6-1 win over Tacoma.

Peralta’s had a 2-for-4 debut in a 4-3 Diamondbacks loss to Cincinnati Sunday, but the left-handed hitter is only 26 and in his fourth year–three of them in Independent leagues–since converting from pitching. He was blistering Southern League (Mobile, AL) pitching with 46 RBI in 53 games while hitting .297 with 17 doubles, a triple and six homers.

He had a combined .359 average with an abundance of power before the Angels purchased his contract from Amarillo mid-year in 2013.

We will have more in depth on Grube and Peralta when this week’s Independent Baseball Insider goes out to subscribers on Thursday.

Bobby Korecky, a relief pitcher for 23 games in Winnipeg’s last season in the Northern League in 2010 (0-2, 10 saves, 5.32), spent one day with high-flying Toronto over the weekend, recording four outs without allowing a hit. The 34-year-old also pitched in one game for the Blue Jays in ’12 and had seen work with Minnesota and Arizona prior to his Independent stint.

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