“It’s hard to beat what we’ve got going on there right now,” manager Bruce Bochy said.
Since the Rangers had faced a long stretch of right-handed starters before Anaheim lefty Patrick Sandoval on Monday, Carter has gotten the bulk of the playing time recently. He started 11 straight and 14 of 16 since his callup. Produced a 1.130 OPS. It’s the second-best 16-game start in club history. The only one better: Taylor Teagarden, who did it over two months as a backup catcher. The best start by an everyday guy: Ian Kinsler, at 1.089. Nice company.But that’s only part of the equation.
Left field has been a decade-long problem for the Rangers. Literally, a decade. Over the 10 years prior to this one, the Rangers produced only a .695 OPS from the position, 29th among all left field contingents. A year ago, it was dead last at .508. Eventually, the position is going to belong to Carter. Unless, that is, he slides to another outfield spot and Wyatt Langford takes up residency there. But that’s a story for another time.In the meantime, Carter is likely to get the majority of the playing time in any kind of playoff run. The other six teams still vying for playoff berths have started right-handers 84% of the time this year.
Carter doesn’t seem fazed by his role. He has refused to expand his strike zone, which is perhaps the biggest obstacle most young prospects face. Big moments can lead to fast heartbeats, and fast heartbeats lead to poor decision making. Carter has swung and missed at just seven of 118 pitches outside the zone.
“So far, it’s just been really fun,” he said. “What you’ve done your whole career is what has worked, so you don’t want to change. You get your heart rate up and that’s when bad things happen.”It’s given the Rangers the left fielder of their dreams. Even if for right now it is a combination of two.
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