Archive for the ‘Chris Carter’ Category

Chris Carter is the A’s Secret Weapon

Posted: August 8, 2012 in AL West, Baseball, Chris Carter, Los Angeles Angels, MLB, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers
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The Oakland A’s are a torrid 22-11 in their last 33 games. While much credit for that record appropriately falls to one of baseball’s best pitching staffs, it is no coincidence that 33 games ago, the A’s called up Chris Carter.

The 25-year-old slugger already has 10 home runs and 20 RBI to his name. The 6’4″, 244 pound man is quickly making a name for himself in his first Major League stint.

The right-handed first baseman was originally drafted in the 15th round of the 2005 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox. In 2007 he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade that sent Carlos Quentin to the Sox. Two weeks later he joined the Oakland farm system in the trade that sent Dan Haren to Arizona. He was assigned to A+ Stockton. He tore shit up:

  • As a 21-year-old, Carter batted .259 with 39 home runs and 104 RBI. Like a good Athletic prospect, he posted a .361 OBP.
  • Carter followed his incredible 2008 season with more eye-popping numbers in 2009. Between AA Midland and AAA Sacramento, he posted a .329/.422/.570 line. Carter finished with 28 home runs and 115 RBI with a .993 fielding percentage at first.
  • Carter’s 2010 in Sacramento left no doubt about his potential. His line was .258/.365/.529. He blasted 31 home runs and drove in 94 runs.
  • The cautious A’s kept Carter in the minors for 2011, and in 81 games he hit .278/.371/.544. He hit 21 home runs and nearly drove in a run per game with 79 RBI.
  • Before his call up, Carter was batting .279/.367/.486 in Sacramento.

This season, primarily batting fifth behind Yoenis Cespedes, Carter is batting .267/.411/.633. Carter has received little national media attention due to his incredible fault of playing on the West Coast for a team not named Angels. But this will soon change, as Carter and the A’s continue to win and throw a monkey wrench in the big money plans of Anaheim and Texas.

Oakland’s bats, ranked near the bottom of most statistical rankings, are heating up and the A’s are a legitimate threat out west. Keep an eye on Carter as the A’s make a push for October.

The Big Guy