Evan Carter has officially been recalled. Seattle has claimed OF Leody Taveras.
Playing Time
Carter has played 21 of Round Round’s 33 games, 18 of those in the field for the entire game. He’s played three consecutive days three times, and last Tuesday through Thursday was the first set in which he played in the outfield every inning. Last week was the first time he’s played five games, although two consisted of a doubleheader in which he played a total of eight innings. He’s never had a week without two consecutive days off.
The Rangers commence a set of 13 straight games tonight. Best I can tell, they might face only righties in the first seven games. That’s better for Carter from a hitting perspective but does bump into the stamina issue. He’s not going to start seven in a row.
Batting In General
Carter has a slash of .221/.333/.416, good for a 97 OPS+ using last year’s park factors, and he’s improved as the season has progressed. Eight of his 17 hits are for extra bases. He’s walking plenty and not striking out too much.
He’s very air-oriented. His median launch angle of 23 degrees is in the 92nd percentile among PCL hitters with at least 25 balls in play, and is grounder rate is near the bottom.
Against Righties
Carter is hitting .262/.366/.508 with a 14% walk rate and 22% strikeout rate against righties. His hard-hit rate is below average (31% compared to 39% for other PCL lefties against righties), but his top-end exit velocity is above average.
Opposing righties are working him out of the zone low/away more than the typical LHB. He’s swung through some changes, which is understandable, but to his credit he’s almost completely ignored fastball, sinkers, and would-be back-door sliders.
Against Lefties
As I’ve mentioned, the Pacific Coast League doesn’t have many lefty pitchers relative to MLB, so Carter’s opportunities against them have been limited to just 17 plate appearances in 21 games. He’s hitting .063/.211/.063 with a softly lined single, three walks and seven strikeouts following a hitless spring. Frankly, some of the at-bats just haven’t been competitive. Sliders have been especially vexing; he’s missed on nine of 14 swings (64%). Of eight recorded balls in play, Carter has one hard hit (95+ MPH) and a median exit velocity of 79.4, about eight below the average of lefty-on-lefty league-wide results.
At all levels including postseason, Carter hasn’t homered against a lefty in 175 plate appearances, the most recent coming on the final day of the 2022 AA regular season.
Running/Stealing/Defending
No issues, I’m happy to say. Carter’s acceleration and speed are fine. He’s gained some extra bases purely on speed out of the box and an awareness of exactly how long an outfielder will need to get the ball to second or third.
Thoughts
Ignoring the needs of the parent club, I’d be inclined to keep Carter in AAA a little while longer. Perhaps a couple of series playing five games out of the weekly six and no more than one day off, assuming his body doesn’t protest. Maybe an indication that he shouldn’t automatically be replaced against a lefty.
The parent club is awfully needy, though. The good news is the Rangers don’t require the October 2023 version of Carter (although that would be swell). They just need him to clear the low bar of what Leody Taveras offered during the season’s first 35 games. Texas inexplicably has one of baseball’s worst offenses, and even a still-rebounding Carter should provide a boost.
That abbreviated doubleheader I mentioned in the Playing Time section was important, as he came off the bench to pinch-hit against a righty in the last inning (and homered!). He’ll be seeing those situations as a Ranger.
