By IAN WILSON

He’s so good and he doesn’t even know it.

That was a sentiment that was expressed by one coach to other skippers at the 2019 Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) All-Star Game in Edmonton about Tristan Peters, who was a standout player with the Okotoks Dawgs at the time.

It’s safe to say that Peters now does know exactly what he’s capable of on the ball diamond, given that he’s the starting centre fielder for the Chicago White Sox.

It took several years for Peters to carve out that spot for himself in Major League Baseball (MLB), but his time at ballparks in Alberta and Saskatchewan played a significant role in his baseball journey.

The Winkler, Manitoba product moved west to Okotoks to train at the prestigious Dawgs Academy as a 16-year-old.

“I think that was a really great decision,” said Peters, who lived with his aunt in Calgary at that point.

“The Dawgs program means a tonne to me … they know how to develop character there. I just learned how to be a good ball player and a good man.”

From his time with the academy, Peters played his way onto the WCBL version of the Dawgs, making a one-game appearance with the team in 2018 before taking the league by storm the following season.

That 2019 campaign was a revelation for Peters and baseball watchers.

Through 52 regular-season games for the summer collegiate Dawgs, the lefty batter was used as both an infielder and an outfielder. He also gained fans at Seaman Stadium thanks to his elite hitting skills. In 227 at bats, Peters established a single-season record for hits in the WCBL, with 90 knocks. Of those hits, 18 were doubles and 12 were home runs. Several other stats jump off the page from that stellar season with the Dawgs, including 52 runs, 44 runs batted in (RBI), 13 stolen bases, a .396 batting average and a .444 on-base percentage.

The league took notice and named the First Team All-Star and batting champ the WCBL Canadian Rookie of the Year, as well as the Rookie of the Year for his regular-season performance.

Peters also received honours for his work in the postseason. After batting .313, with three stolen bases, four RBI and six runs scored in eight games on the way to a league championship triumph over the Regina Red Sox, Peters was named the WCBL Playoff MVP.

“I really wanted to come in and win this league. No other goals, really. Just hit the ball hard and have fun,” Peters told Alberta Dugout Stories.

“I’ve really been trying to have a lot of fun and I definitely have been.”

Added Peters: “The guys on that team were incredible. They were great ball players but even better people and they were just so much fun to be around.”

Tristan Peters awaits a pitch during the 2019 WCBL All-Star Game in Edmonton … *photo by Ian Wilson*

His college career took him to Chandler-Gilbert Community College and Southern Illinois University, where Peters continued to earn accolades for his hitting abilities and defensive prowess.

The summer of 2021 offered up a unique opportunity for Peters to take his talents to the Coastal Plain League, where he suited up for the Savannah Bananas in 17 games. The team is known for its own version of baseball, Banana Ball, which delivers a Harlem Globetrotters style of entertainment that includes trick plays, dance routines and fan participation.

“I was a little skeptical at first and then being in it, it was so much fun. The fans, the engagement and stuff with them was incredible, it was a lot of fun,” said Peters of his time with the Bananas.

He had plenty of reasons to dance around in a kilt at that time, especially when he got the call from the Milwaukee Brewers during the MLB Amateur Draft in July. The Brewers made Peters a seventh-round selection – 207th overall – in the draft and assigned him to the rookie-level Brewers Blue in the Arizona Complex League to begin his time as a professional baseball player.

After making it to Double-A in the minors in 2022, Peters was traded by the Brewers to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitcher Trevor Rosenthal. In 34 games with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, he picked up 17 RBI, 16 runs and five stolen bases.

In mid-November of that year, Peters was traded again, this time from the Giants to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for second baseman Brett Wisely.

The Rays invited their new prospect to their big-league Spring Training camp to kickoff the 2023 season before sending him to the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League. Peters batted .275 with 65 runs, 46 RBI, 22 doubles, 14 stolen bases and seven long balls in 93 games with the Biscuits.

He entered 2024 with an eye on advancing to Triple-A and possibly even an MLB debut.

“I’m trying to be prepared for anything, as I’ve learned that anything can happen,” said Peters before the season.

“My goal by the end of the year would be to get called up and have my MLB debut this year … it might be ambitious, but I don’t think you get anywhere without ambition.”

The 6-foot tall outfielder reported to the Durham Bulls in North Carolina, the top affiliate in the Rays minor league system. Peters spent two seasons with the iconic Triple-A franchise – made famous by the movie Bull Durham – and produced 140 runs, 122 RBI, 27 homers, 19 stolen bases, 49 doubles and a .253 batting average in 259 games.

“I learned a lot about failure and how to deal with that. I got to talk to a lot of experienced guys who’ve played in the major leagues,” said Peters of his time with the Bulls.

Peters was also making a name for himself as a phenomenal defensive outfielder. He could regularly be seen making highlight-reel catches that prevented runs and kept pitchers clapping from the mound.

“I really enjoy the outfield, a lot more than I thought I would. I was always an infielder growing up and in high school here in Okotoks,” said Peters during one of his off-season visits to the fieldhouse at Dawgs Academy.

“I found that really focusing on the batter and expecting the ball to come to you is the most important part to get that first-step quickness. I think that really helped me … and also not being afraid to take risks.”

As he continued to work on his game during the 2025 season, the Rays organization decided to give him his long-awaited call to the majors late in the summer.

Peters made his MLB debut in front of 38,780 fans at T-Mobile Park in Seattle against the Mariners on Aug. 8th. He got the start in centre field and batted fifth in the lineup for the Rays.

“Give him a tonne of credit,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash on MLB.com.

“Over the years, he’s just made steady progress, and really has come into his own on both sides of the ball.”

Peters described the experience as “surreal” and said he was “just excited to get out there and help the team win a few ball games.”

Several of his family members from Manitoba – including his parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins – and friends made the trip to Seattle to watch Peters make his first at bat against starting pitcher Luis Castillo. The 25-year-old caught three fly balls and went 0-for-3 in his first game. He played all three games of the weekend series against the Mariners.

After realizing his dream of making it to the major leagues, another curveball awaited Peters.

The budding big leaguer was dealt by the Rays to the Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations in mid-December, a move that forced Peters to re-discover his place in a new organization yet again.

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Still in search of his first MLB hit, the former WCBL star began the 2026 campaign by making sure he stuck around with the big club. A strong Spring Training showing with the White Sox sealed his spot on the team.

“I was super pumped to make the team out of camp,” Peters said in a March interview with the Winnipeg Sun newspaper.

“That was definitely a goal going into spring training. The organization was clear about the role they want me to play, and I want to fully embrace that.”

Added Peters: “I knew they were a young team, and I was very excited about the opportunity the team could provide.”

That opportunity has blossomed nicely for both Peters and the White Sox.

Through 74 games this season, he has a .289 batting average, 17 doubles, 25 runs, 24 RBI, four stolen bases and three home runs. He continues to make jaw-dropping, diving catches in the outfield and his hitting highlights are also adding up.

His first MLB hit was a double against the Milwaukee Brewers, the team that drafted him, and he recorded his first RBI against the Toronto Blue Jays by smacking a single that delivered a 10th-inning, walk-off victory for the White Sox in Chicago’s home opener on April 3rd.

“This is just one of the coolest things. I mean I’ve been playing every day so far since Opening Day, which has been great. I mean, just getting my at-bats, seeing pitching at the big-league level, it’s awesome. I’m just trying to be consistent,’’ Peters told the Chicago Sun-Times after the win over the Jays.

More recently, Peters broke up Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s no-hit bid in dramatic fashion by launching a ninth-inning homer off the starting pitcher during a 7-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 13th.

As it turns out, Tristan Peters really is that good. If he doesn’t fully know it yet, those in Major League Baseball are figuring out just how good he can be.

(This article is part of the Western Canadian Baseball League’s “From the Vault” series, which focuses on WCBL alumni and is sponsored by Sentinel Storage)