Evan Carter

Evan Jason Carter (born August 29, 2002) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Evan Carter
Evan Carter
Texas Rangers – No. 32
Left fielder
Born: (2002-08-29) August 29, 2002 (age 22) Elizabethton, Tennessee, U.S.
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 8, 2023, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics (through 2024 season)
Batting average	.223
Home runs	10
Runs batted in	27
Teams
Texas Rangers (2023–present)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (2023)

Amateur career

Carter was born and grew up in Elizabethton, Tennessee and attended Elizabethton High School. He was an All-Conference selection in baseball in all three seasons he played. He committed to play college baseball at Duke after his sophomore year.^[1] As a junior, Carter batted .324 with four homers and 27 RBIs and was 10–2 with a 1.34 ERA and six complete games as a pitcher.^[2] Carter appeared in just 3 games before his senior season was cancelled due to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Professional career

Minor leagues

The Texas Rangers selected Carter in the second round, with the 50th overall selection, of the 2020 MLB draft and he received a $1.25 million signing bonus.^[4] MLB.com had not considered him a top-200 prospect and Baseball America had not rated him one of its top 500 prospects.^[5][6] Carter spent the 2021 season with the Down East Wood Ducks of the Low-A East, hitting .236/.438/.387/.825 with 2 home runs, 12 RBI, and 12 stolen bases over 32 games.^[7][8] In June 2021, Carter suffered a stress fracture in his lower back, which caused him to miss the remainder of that season.^[9] Carter split the 2022 season between the Hickory Crawdads of the High-A South Atlantic League and the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League, hitting a combined .295/.397/.489/.885 with 12 home runs, 73 RBI, and 28 stolen bases.^[10][11]

Carter was named the Texas Rangers 2022 Tom Grieve Player of the Year.^[12] He also received a 2022 minor league Rawlings Gold Glove Award.^[13] Carter was ranked as the 26th overall prospect in baseball by Baseball America, the 41st overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, and the 53rd overall prospect by The Athletic's Keith Law during the 2023 off-season.^[14][15][16]

Carter received a non-roster invitation to major league spring training in 2023 and returned to Frisco to open the season.^[17] Carter missed three weeks in June due to multiple arm injuries. Over 97 games for Frisco, he hit .284/.411/.451/.862 with 12 home runs, 62 RBI, and 22 stolen bases.^[18] Carter was promoted to the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League on August 29.^[19] Over 8 games, he hit .353/.436/.382/.818 with 3 RBI and 3 stolen bases.^[20]

Major leagues

On September 8, 2023, Texas selected Carter's contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time for his MLB debut that night versus the Oakland Athletics.^[21] Carter's debut included his first career walk, stolen base, and hit, a single off of Paul Blackburn.^[22] Carter hit his first major league home run on September 11 versus the Toronto Blue Jays Chris Bassitt.^[23] In 23 games in 2023, he batted .306/.413/.645/1.058 with 5 home runs, 12 RBI, and 3 stolen bases.^[24][25] Carter excelled for Texas in the 2023 postseason, hitting .300/.417/.500/.917 with 1 home run, 6 RBI, and 3 stolen bases in 17 games as their starting left fielder. He recorded 9 doubles, a record for a single MLB postseason.^[26] Carter and the Rangers won the 2023 World Series, the first championship in franchise history.^[27]

Carter began the 2024 campaign with Texas, hitting .188 with five home runs and 15 RBI across 45 games. He was placed on the injured list with lower–back tightness on May 28, 2024,^[28] and was transferred to the 60–day injured list on July 29.^[29]

Personal life

He is married to Kaylen Carter. He is a Christian.^[30] Evan shadowed an Endodontist for a year during high school, which inspired him to become a dentist.

References

1. Hawkins, Kenny (November 13, 2019). "Elizabethton Cyclones baseball player Evan Carter signs with Duke". WJHL-TV.
2. "Rangers sign top 2 draft picks who wait to see where they go". Associated Press. June 19, 2020.
3. Newberg, Jamey (June 25, 2020). "'A dagger to the heart': The college coaches who lost out on four Ranger picks". The Athletic. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
4. "Evan Carter signs contract with the Rangers". June 19, 2020.
5. "Too early to judge Texas Rangers' draft despite criticism". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. June 14, 2020.
6. "Rangers continue history of risky second-round draft picks with Evan Carter's selection". The Dallas Morning News. June 11, 2020.
7. Kennedi Landry (April 30, 2021). "Where will Rangers' top prospects begin '21?". MLB.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
8. Landry, Kennedi (March 9, 2022). "Surprise 2020 Draft pick Carter has 'all the ingredients' to succeed". MLB.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
9. Chris Halicke (June 28, 2021). "Rangers Prospects Evan Carter, Tekoah Roby To Miss Significant Time With Injuries". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
10. Wilson, Jeff (September 19, 2022). "Evan Carter: Rangers 2022 Minor League Player Of The Year". Baseball America. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
11. Landry, Kennedi (October 19, 2022). "These Rangers prospects are on the rise". MLB.com. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
12. Bigley, Zach (October 3, 2022). "Former Riders sweep 2022 Rangers MiLB awards". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
13. Avallone, Michael (November 22, 2022). "Here are 2022's MiLB Gold Glove winners". MLB.com. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
14. "2023 Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
15. "Top 100 Baseball Prospects". MLB.com. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
16. Law, Keith (January 30, 2023). "Keith Law's top 100 MLB prospects, with Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll at No. 1". The Athletic. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
17. Postins, Matthew (January 28, 2023). "Rangers Invite Top Prospects to Spring Training". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
18. "Texas Rangers Top Prospect OF Evan Carter Joins Express Roster". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
19. Landry, Kennedi (August 29, 2023). "Rangers promote Carter to Triple-A on top prospect's birthday". MLB.com. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
20. "Elizabethton's Evan Carter to make MLB debut with Texas Rangers". Bristol Herald Courier. Associated Press. September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
21. Landry, Kennedi (September 7, 2023). "Rangers to call up top prospect Evan Carter". MLB.com. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
22. Landry, Kennedi (September 8, 2023). "Rangers unable to stop skid despite Carter's impressive debut". MLB.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
23. Glaser, Kyle (September 12, 2023). "Prospect Report: Evan Carter Hits First Major League Home Run". Baseball America. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
24. Snyder, Matt (October 30, 2023). "Rangers' Evan Carter was in Double-A two months before World Series, here's how he earned his spot in Texas". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
25. Pleskoff, Bernie. "Major League Scouting Report: Texas Rangers' Evan Carter". Forbes. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
26. "Evan Carter, the Rangers' 'Little Savior' made everyone a believer in World Series run". The Dallas Morning News. November 2, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
27. "21-Year-Old World Series Champ Evan Carter is Still Floating". GQ. November 3, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
28. "Rangers' Evan Carter: Dealing with back tightness". cbssports.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
29. "Rangers Make 11 Roster Moves". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
30. Mercer, Kevin. "Rookie Evan Carter has been huge spark for Rangers as he declares 'Jesus won'". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved October 4, 2023.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)