Getting to Know DJ Peters
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ №12 prospect talks hair, his top plays, and growing up a Dodgers fan
In his previous three professional seasons, DJ Peters could be recognized by fans in two ways: by his long, blonde hair and by his plethora of majestic home runs.
Though his locks are now gone, the home runs were a mainstay in 2019, as Peters hit 23 home runs and collected 81 RBI in 125 games between the Double-A Tulsa Drillers and the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. He is currently ranked as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ №12 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Oklahoma City Dodgers Communications Assistant Brian Brown recently caught up with Peters about cutting his hair, the favorite plays of his career and growing up as a Dodgers fan.
Brian Brown: Your long hair is gone. How long were you growing it out and what was the reason for cutting it?
DJ Peters: I started growing it out in 2015 after the MLB draft and just let it go. I trimmed it here and there, but I thought it was time to cut it off. A new slate. A fresh start. I had it for three or four years, but it grows back pretty fast. It’ll probably come back at some point.
BB: What was your teammates’ first reactions when they saw you no longer had that long hair?
DJ: They were all shocked, but at the same time they were happy for me because they knew I was wanting to do it. Nobody had seen me without my long hair because ever since I signed, I had long hair. I had a couple reactions where they didn’t recognize me at first, but once they got familiar with me…I had some looks where they’d look at me for three or four seconds before they’d recognize me, but it was cool.
BB: I have a few plays for you. We’re going to figure out which one is your personal favorite. First, plays from this season. Which was your favorite: Robbing a home run in Salt Lake, or hitting the hotel beyond left field at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with a home run?
DJ: I’d say probably hitting the hotel with a home run. What I heard is that they’d never seen that here, so that was pretty cool, and it’s always pretty cool when you can hit it out of the stadium. Robbing a home run is just as good too, because I remember the game. It was a tight game. That home run would have put [Salt Lake] up by two. They’re both very, very special to me but I would probably say the home run off the hotel.
BB: Throwback to the last couple of seasons. What is your favorite: Being the Double-A home run king in 2018 with the Tulsa Drillers, or hitting two jacks off Madison Bumgarner in 2017 with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes? (Editor’s Note: Peters hit 29 homers in 2018 with Tulsa and faced Bumgarner in 2017 when he made a Major League rehab start for Class-A San Jose).
DJ: I would say probably the two home runs off Bumgarner, because that’s something that I will always remember. Not saying I won’t always remember being the home run leader last year, but hitting two home runs off a World Series Champion and MVP and All-Star, that is something that I will cherish forever because of the situation. I’d say hitting the two home runs off Bumgarner.
BB: Putting hitting the hotel against the MadBum home runs, what is your top play?
DJ: Probably MadBum. It’s something that I can never do again, maybe, I don’t know if it has ever been done, twice in one inning. But the capacity and situation of it all, it was something very special.
BB: Speaking of Madison Bumgarner, you had success against him. Would you say he’s the toughest pitcher you’ve ever faced?
DJ: I mean, you face some really good pitching at Spring Training, this level, Double-A. You get a crafty guy here and there, then you get a guy that wants to blow it by you. Toughest pitcher I’ve faced, don’t really have an answer to that, but Bumgarner is a really good pitcher. He’s going to go on to have a better career, he’s already had a great career and I think he is going to keep on striving to get better.
BB: So you’re from Glendora, Calif. You grew up a Dodgers fan?
DJ: Yes, I grew up a Dodgers fan.
BB: What is your favorite Dodgers player and favorite Dodgers moment that has really stuck for you?
DJ: My favorite Dodgers player growing up was Shawn Green. He was an outfielder with the Dodgers back in the day. I was seven years old when he hit the four home runs in Milwaukee which I thought was really cool, being a seven-year-old kid, seeing one player hit four home runs in a game. My favorite moment would be going to my first-ever Dodgers game. I still remember to this day. They were playing the Diamondbacks. I still remember where I was sitting. I still remember the game vividly. My first-ever game at Dodger Stadium, I remember walking in and it was just so big, being six years old. I’ve been there a lot now. I get to workout there during the offseason. It’s just a dream come true.
BB: Did you always want to be an outfielder?
DJ: You know, I think it kind of chose me, in a way. In high school, I played the outfield and pitched a little bit. I knew I had a good arm. I knew I was fast. I knew I could play the outfield and knew that I could hit a little bit. The outfield just kind of chose me. I absolutely love it out there.
BB: Last question for you. If the opportunity ever came up to come in to pitch as a position player, what pitches would be in your arsenal?
DJ: I pitched in college a bit at Western Nevada, so probably fastball, curveball, slider. I haven’t pitched since [college], probably won’t, but I always bug them for me to pitch. But, like I said, probably won’t happen. If it does, I’ll throw the fastball, throw the curveball, and maybe show the slider a little bit.
