MINNEAPOLIS – The Detroit Tigers called up infielder John Peck and optioned outfielder Corey Julks before a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Monday, Aug.31.
Peck, a 24-year-old right-handed bat, was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Pepperdine. He will become the fifth player from that draft to make his debut this season for the Tigers: Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle, Andrew Sears and Brett Callahan.
The Tigers also called upYilber Diazfrom Toledo and Tanner Rainey was designated for assignment.
Both Beau Brieske and Riley Greene were in the Tigers' clubhouse on Monday. They will be called up on Tuesday when rosters expand.
Peck was not in the lineup on Monday for the first game against the Twins. "But he will
be in the lineup tomorrow at shortstop, and he's going to play Wednesday at shortstop as well," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "So we obviously really like him defensively. We've liked how he's developed offensively over the last couple of seasons."
Peck has played 278 games in the Tigers system, hitting .288 with 287 strikeouts and 101 walks. But he has found some power over the last two seasons. He hit 11 homers in 2025 and 11 in 70 games in 2026.
Peck started out the season at Double-A Erie and quickly impressed, hitting .285 with 10 homers in 58 games with an .839 OPS. He was promoted to Erie in late June but was injured after two games, suffering a hamstring injury.
"He had his own health concerns earlier this year when he had his (hamstring)," Hinch said. "He's recovered and got a brief little stint in AAA. But we want to take a look at him defensively at shortstop. He's a reliable guy. We loved him in spring. We've loved him during the season, and he's going to get a little bit of a run here to help us on the position player side."
After sitting out for six weeks, he played three rehab games with the Lakeland Flying Tigers and three with the West Michigan Whitecaps before he returned to Toledo. But even that was short. He played in just four games for Toledo – ironically, in St. Paul.
Peck gives the Tigers a strong, versatile defender. In his Tigers minor league career, he has played 155 games at short stop, 72 at third base, 36 at second and four in left field.
But the Tigers plan to use him mainly at short, which means Kevin McGonigle will play primarily third when Peck is in the game.
"Kevin will play a lot of third base," Hinch said. "Obviously, he'll still play shortstop. I mean, Peck's not going to play every single game."
The Tigers elected to promote Peck instead of second baseman Max Anderson, considered one of the best hitting players in the minor leagues. Anderson is hitting .307 and has a .898 OPS with 14 homers in 93 games at Triple-A Toledo. He has struck out just 52 times with 47 walks.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers add another 2023 pick to big-league roster in John Peck
