Ben Peoples

Benjamin Cole Peoples

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Giles County High School
• Debut July 4, 2026

• Born May 1, 2001 in Columbia, TN USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Ben Peoples was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 22nd round of the 2019 amateur draft out of a high school in Tennessee. He was traded twice before making his major league debut in 2026. The first trade was from Tampa Bay to the Chicago White Sox on July 31, 2025 and involved veteran pitcher Adrian Houser heading to Tampa in return for Curtis Mead, Duncan Davitt and Peoples. The second trade was on June 30, 2026 and sent him to the Texas Rangers in return for Class-A C Ben Hartl. On July 2nd, he was called up to Texas and he made his debut on July 4th, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, when he pitched two innings of relief in a 3-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers, giving up 2 hits but no runs while striking out one.

Pitching essentially as a starter in the Rays' system, he had reached AAA by the time of the first trade, his career progression having been delayed by the forced inactivity created by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: after three years with the Rays, he had not yet made it out of Rookie-class. 2025 was also the season he was converted to a reliever, as he had pitched 35 games for the Durham Bulls, going 2-2, 2.68, before the transaction, and then made another 10 appearances for the Charlotte Knights, staying in the International League, after that. He was back at Charlotte to start 2026 and was doing very well, going 5-1, 2.39 with 4 saves in 29 games before the Rangers acquired him.

Related Sites

• Ben Peoples on mlb.com