a carpenter’s handiwork

I went to the Falmouth-Chatham game on Saturday night at Veterans Field. I glanced at the pitching match-up before I went, but didn’t delve any deeper. I wasn’t too familiar with Chatham’s starter, Chris Carpenter.
I am now.
Carpenter worked only three innings, but was very impressive. Not knowing much about him beforehand, I wasn’t really prepared to pay close attention. I wasn’t tuned in. But in that first inning, when I heard the glove pop, I had a pretty good idea that he was throwing hard. A quick glance at a scout’s radar gun proved it. Carpenter was consistently in the low 90s and touched 94. He struck out seven in three innings and looked pretty dominant.
From what I can tell, Carpenter is a pretty interesting story. He’s from Kent State in Ohio, where he just finished his sophomore year. But he was a draft-eligible sophomore because of a medical redshirt year that came about because of Tommy John surgery in 2005.
Apparently, it made him stronger. At 6-4, 220, he was always a power arm. But when he returned from the surgery, he was in the mid-90s consistently. Still, he only made 12 appearances for Kent State this year, and he wasn’t exactly dominant, posting a 4.50 ERA.
That’s just part of the dichotomy surrounding Carpenter.
Before the June draft, he was a projected as a first or second-round pick. But injury concerns had him slipping all the way to the 18th round, where the Yankees selected him.
Instead of signing immediately, Carpenter took off for Chatham, hoping to gain some leverage. If he pitches well and proves he’s healthy, he can ask for the type of contract he would have gotten as a high pick.
So far, so good. Carpenter has allowed two runs in nine innings over two starts, and he’s struck out 13. You can’t help but be impressed with his fastball, but his curveball looked good, too, on Saturday. Control may be an issue, but he’s only walked four so far this summer.
If he stays healthy and keeps putting up those numbers, he’ll make himself some money. But it’ll be interesting to see how Chatham manager John Schiffner handles him. In a way, Carpenter has some mercenary qualities, but I guess everybody in this league does, to some extent. His are just more pronounced. In reality, he gives the A’s a serious force on the mound, no matter how they decide to use him. I’ll be watching.
And I’m betting the Yankees will, too. That scout whose radar gun I looked at? He was wearing a Yankees shirt.

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