MVN - Most Valuable Network

Haren’s Yield: Chris Carter

In this, the fifth of six profiles of the players arriving in the Dan Haren trade, I’ll profile Chris Carter. Soon to come: Aaron Cunningham and Chris Carter. Already done: Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland and Greg Smith.

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Chris Carter was a part of the Diamondbacks’ system for all of eleven days, between December 3rd and 14th. He was acquired from the White Sox for Carlos Quentin, then flipped to the A’s a week-and-a-half later. Oh, and he’s not to be confused with this Chris Carter — a Fremont, California native) — who was traded to the Red Sox from the Diamondbacks last summer.

The Carter that the A’s got is a native of Redwood City, California, and just turned 21 last week. Drafted out of Sierra Vista High School in Las Vegas by the White Sox in the 15th round of the 2005 draft, Carter is a power hitter. And that’s about all — for now.

Carter isn’t a strong defensive first-baseman, strikes out too much, and doesn’t walk much. At times, he has a hesitant approach at the plate, but his patience is improving. His saving grace is his power bat. He hits opposite field moon shots, and laces doubles. At 6-4, 220 lbs, he has the frame to continue to grow his power — if he can hack it at higher levels than high-A.

In his introduction to pro ball, Carter hit 10 homers and 17 doubles in 233 at-bats, with a .283/.350/.485/.835 line at rookie league Bristol. The next season, he moved up to the Pioneer League’s Great Falls club, and hit another 15 home runs and 21 doubles in 251 at-bats. His line as a 19-year-old: .299/.398/.570/.968. He finished 2006 with 46 at-bats for low-A Kannapolis, hitting just .130/.231/.261/.492 — but improved vastly in 2007. In a full season at Kannapolis, Carter smacked 25 home runs and 27 doubles in 467 at-bats, with a glowing .291/.383/.522/.905 line.

In an interview with MiLB.com, Chicago’s director of player development Alan Regier seemed to have high hopes for the young slugger.

“The raw power is there,” Regier said. “It’s just a matter of getting him to understand the game, and counts. It’s a learning game for him, because the tools are there. Ideally, you’d like to see your Minor Leaguers get 1,500 at-bats to get them ready. Carter [who has 530] falls into that category.”

That interview took place in March of 2007, and Carter is now up to 997 at-bats in the minors — and has accumulated a nice .284/.373/.514/.905 line so far.

Other voices on Carter:

ESPN’s Keith Law:

… he’s a very young, defensively-challenged slugger with big raw power now and the potential to hit 30-plus homers in the majors if he can do enough other things to make it there.

Matt Eddy of Baseball America:

Taken as a third baseman from a Las Vegas high school in the 15th round of the 2005 draft, the righthanded-hitting Carter has shown average to above power and command of the strike zone in his three pro seasons.

FoxSports.com’s Dayn Perry:

Carter is a converted third baseman who had a breakout power season in 2007. However, he hasn’t played above the Low-A Sally League, so he’ll need much more seasoning before he’s ready for the majors.

I see Carter beginning the season with high-A Stockton in the California League, and possibly spending the last month of the season at AA Midland — if all goes well. He needs to improve his defense before he can move too far, but he’ll be given every chance to do so. He’s a power-hitting righty, which is something of a gap in the A’s system. I don’t think I’m too far off to predict a .292/.390/.520/.910 season for Carter, with somewhere around 25 home runs.

His big-league debut could come as soon as 2011 — around the time the A’s move to Fremont — assuming that two things happen. One, Carter’s defense needs to be up to snuff. Two, there needs to be an opportunity for him to play. With Nick Swisher and Daric Barton likely to be entrenched as the A’s first-baseman and designated hitters for the foreseeable future, Carter will have to wow to displace either of them.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 27th, 2007 at 9:24 pm and is filed under Stockton, Prospects, Trades. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.