Zach Peterson

Zachary Conrad Peterson (born November 6, 1984) is an American right-handed starting pitcher who currently plays in the Kansas City Royals organization. He was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota to parents Todd and Diane Peterson. Peterson was a 3-time first team All-Horizon league pitcher as well as the 2007 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He signed as a Free-Agent to the Kansas City Royals and spent his inaugural season with the minor league affiliate Idaho Falls Chukars. On August 21, 2007, Peterson set a Pioneer League record by fanning 11 consecutive batters (13 total) in only 6 innings of work in the Chukars' 9-1 win over the Billings Mustangs. Peterson is the nephew of entrepreneur Lee Zehrer and American movie and television director Paul Zehrer.
Prep career
Earned First team All-State, All-Metro, All-Sun, All-Section and All-Conference honors as well as led the Classic Lake Conference in batting (.444) as a senior with Minnetonka High School, finishing the season with a record of 8-1 in nine appearances. Led the Minnetonka Skippers to two conference titles, section titles and state appearances as well as a top 20 national ranking as a junior. Drove Excelsior to a second and third place finish in the state legion tournament, including a runner-up finish in the Legion World Series by defeating national powerhouse Alabama in the semifinals in one of the great showdowns in Legion history. Beat national powerhouse and nationally ranked #1 Cretin-Derham Hall's Junior Varsity team, pitching a complete game with 2 K's and 11 walks.
Professional career
2007: Signed Free-Agent Contract with the Kansas City Royals
2007: Starting Pitcher for the Idaho Falls Chukars (Minor League Affiliate of KC Royals)
2008: Relief Pitcher for the Burlington Bees (Minor League Affiliate of KC Royals)
2009: Starting Pitcher for the Burlington Bees/Relief Pitcher Wilmington Blue Rocks (Minor League Affiliate of KC Royals)
2010: On March 18th Zach was promoted to the Kansas City Royals 47 man roster.
2007 Notes: Fanned 67 batters with only 8 walks over 56 innings while appearing in 15 games. Posted a record of 5-3 with an ERA of 2.89. Set a Pioneer League record by fanning 11 consecutive batters (13 total) in only 6 innings of work in the Chukars' 9-1 romp over the Billings Mustangs on August 21, 2007.
2008 Notes: Finished the 2008 season with a respectable 3.13 ERA and 82 strikeouts with only 20 walks over 77.2 innings of work.
2009 Notes: Zach Peterson has been named as a starting pitcher to the opening day Burlington Bees roster of 2009. Peterson was put on the 15 day DL with shoulder pain on May 12. In June, Peterson was promoted to the Royals class A Advanced Wilmington Blue Rocks as a Relief Pitcher. He finished the season with a 2-0 record and a 2.15 ERA in 23 appearances and over 37.2 innings as a Blue Rocks reliever.
According to BaseballCube.com, Zach Peterson is one of the most accurate pitchers in Minor League Baseball and in his scouting report has a control rating of 100 out of 100, and a batter efficiency rating of 91 of 100.
College career
2007 HORIZON LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE YEAR
2007 ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
2006 ABCA & RAWLINGS NCAA ALL-MIDEAST REGION SECOND TEAM
2006 ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
2005 ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
2005 HORIZON LEAGUE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Prep/High School Career
2000: Starting Short Stop/Pitcher - Mounds View High School, Freshman Team - Shoreview, MN
2001: Starting Catcher/Pitcher - White Bear Lake High School, Varsity Team - White Bear Lake, MN
2002: Starting Short Stop/Pitcher - Minnetonka High School, Varsity Team - Minnteonka, MN
2003: Starting Short Stop/Pitcher - Minnetonka High School, Varsity Team - Minnetonka, MN

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