Heading into the ALCS, there were a few Tampa Bay Rays players who stood out as potential MVP winners should the team be able to defeat the Cleveland Guardians and advance to the World Series.

Third baseman Junior Caminero was the most popular pick, and rightfully so. He was the team’s MVP in the regular season, as feared a power hitter as there is in the MLB. Starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen was another popular selection after he made history by dominating the New York Yankees in the ALDS.

As the ALCS moved along, designated hitter Yandy Diaz emerged as an option with his stellar performance. But it was one of the team’s deadline acquisitions who received the award for how well he played: starting pitcher Freddy Peralta.

When it was announced that the Rays had acquired the veteran righty from the New York Mets, a similar sentiment was shared by a lot of people: if anyone was going to get Peralta back on track after he had a 4.99 ERA with the Mets, it would be Tampa Bay.

Freddy Peralta has been on fire for Rays

Alas, the early returns were ugly. Through his first four starts, he had a 7.17 ERA across 21.1 innings of work. His season-long ERA was up to 5.33, which was the worst mark among qualified starting pitchers in the sport.

But since that point, something started to click with the adjustments that the coaching staff was helping him make. Peralta has made 10 appearances since that point, including one relief outing in Game 4 against the Guardians, and has been dominant, resulting in the ALCS MVP award being given to him.

Peralta took the ball in Game 2 after his team lost Game 1. He fired six shutout innings, allowing only four hits and issuing two walks to go along with six strikeouts in the longest postseason outing of his career.

Four days later, in Game 4, he was called upon out of the bullpen in relief. He entered the game with one out and one runner on in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was a risky decision by manager Kevin Cash to bring in a starting pitcher in the middle of the inning, but Peralta was up for the task.

He got Steven Kwan to line out before walking Jose Ramirez. With two outs and two on, Peralta faced Chase DeLauter in a 2-1 game and got him to fly out to center fielder Cedric Mullins to finish his outing.

Two days later, he was on the mound to start Game 6 and was dealing once again. He threw 5.1 innings but wasn’t as sharp as in his previous appearances, giving up five hits and issuing three walks.

However, he limited the damage, surrendering only one earned run, to go along with five strikeouts in the series-clinching game.

Peralta finished the ALCS with 12 innings pitched, striking out nine and working around six walks and nine hits to give up only one earned run, resulting in a sterling 0.75 ERA.

Now, he will look to keep that momentum going into the World Series and help the Rays win a title for the first time in franchise history.