Andrew Carraway

Andrew Donnelly Carraway

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
• School University of Virginia
• High School Walton High School
• Born September 4, 1986 in Atlanta, GA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical information

Starting pitcher Andrew Carraway pitched in the Seattle Mariners system from 2009 to 2014. He played at Triple A his last three seasons.

Carraway was All-State in high school. He was 2-0 with a 2.91 ERA as a college freshman, with 33 K to 6 BB in 34 IP. In 2007, he had a 5-0, 3.60 record. The next year, he was 4-3 with a 4.06 ERA. In 75 1/3 IP, he struck out 87 and only walked 12. He was 8th in the Atlantic Coast Conference in strikeouts (between Pat McAnaney and Eric Surkamp) and was the only pitcher in NCAA Division I to rank in the top 30 in both K/9 (30th) and fewest BB/9 (29th). He then went 4-2 with a 1.90 ERA and 57 K in 47 1/3 IP for the Hyannis Mets of the Cape Cod League. He was 5th in the league in ERA (between Kevin Landry and Chris Manno) and third in strikeouts (behind Brandon Workman and Bryce Stowell). He joined Manno, Stowell, Matt Thomson, Nick Hernandez and Nick McCully as the All-League starters. As a senior, he was 9-2 with a 3.96 ERA. He tied Tyler Wilson and Danny Hultzen for 4th in the ACC in wins. In the 2009 College World Series, he got Virginia's first win ever in a College World Series, beating Cal State Fullerton with 2 2/3 shutout innings of relief. He finished his college career 6th in University of Virginia history in wins (20-5) and strikeouts (238).

The Seattle Mariners took him as the 2nd pick in the 12th round of the 2009 amateur draft, directly after Nate Karns. The scout was Rob Mummau. He began his career with a bang, going 8-0 with a 2.09 ERA in 17 games (10 starts) for the Everett AquaSox (4-0, Sv, 1.44) and Clinton LumberKings (4-0, 2.50) in 2009, but cooled off afterward. He had 70 K to 9 BB in 64 2/3 IP that first year, with a 0.93 WHIP. Despite starting in mid-season, he tied for 7th in the Mariners chain in wins. In the first four years after his initial campaign, Carraway has posted ERAs of 5.33, 3.66, 4.14 and 5.32.

He was in the hitter-friendly California League in 2010, going 11-8 with a 5.33 ERA. He walked only 31 in 150 1/3 IP but allowed 190 hits (25 homers). He was 4th in the league in wins (one shy of Ethan Hollingsworth, Juan Nicasio and Oliver Odle), third in hits allowed (after Ross Seaton and Kyle Greenwalt) and first in homers allowed. He tied Josh Banks and Yohan Pino for 4th in minor league baseball in gopher balls served up. Among Mariners farmhands, he allowed the most hits (23 more than #2 Steve Bray) and home runs (4 ahead of Kenn Kasparek) while tying Anthony Vasquez, Luke French and Michael Pineda for second in wins, one shy of Taylor Stanton.

The Georgian was excellent with the 2011 Jackson Generals (9-5, 3.66). He was second in the Southern League in ERA (.20 behind Wily Peralta), first in WHIP (1.08, .17 better than runner-up Will Savage), tied for 6th in ERA, first in low walk rate (1.31 BB/9) and third in opponent average (.237). Among Seattle minor leaguers, he tied for second in wins, one behind Erasmo Ramirez, tied for 4th in ERA with Mayckol Guaipe and was 9th in strikeouts (106, between Taijuan Walker and Chris Sorce). He split 2012 between Jackson (4-0, 2.61) and the Tacoma Rainiers (5-7, 4.66), with 37 walks in 150 innings while battling a right shoulder rotator cuff injury late in the year. He tied for third in the Seattle chain in wins, behind Roenis Elias and Cam Hobson; among those he tied was former Virginia teammate Hultzen.

2013 was a rough year for Carraway. Battling injuries to his ankle and elbow, he missed time and his control deserted him (55 BB, 13 WP in 118 2/3 IP for Tacoma). He had a rehab stint with the AquaSox (7 R in 15 IP) while going 6-8 with a 5.61 ERA for Tacoma. He tied Johnny Hellweg for 4th in the 2013 PCL in wild pitches, not a sign of the control hurler he had previously been. In 2014, he was 8-5 with a 5.10 ERA in 30 games (22 starts) for Tacoma, walking 32 in 125 1/3 innings. On March 23, 2015, he announced his retirement.

Overall, Carraway went 51-33 with a 4.48 ERA in 154 games (132 starts). In 761 2/3 innings, he allowed just 190 walks, while striking out 578 batters.

Sources

• 2014 Mariners Media Guide
• UVa bio
• The Baseball Cube
• Cape Cod League