Evan Carter

Evan Jason Carter

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
• High School Elizabethton High School
• Debut September 8, 2023

• Born August 29, 2002 in Elizabethton, TN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Evan Carter made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers as a 21-year-old in early September of 2023. The Rangers had selected him in the 2nd round of the 2020 amateur draft, after having been the first team to take notice of him the previous year. He had largely flown under the radar of most teams because the COVID-19 pandemic had wiped out his senior high school season.

His professional debut was modest as he hit .236 in 32 games for the Down East Wood Ducks of what was called the Low-A East in 2021. However, he already showed an uncanny ability to control the strike zone, as his OBP was a stellar .438. he spent most of 2022 with the Class A Hickory Crawdads of the South Atlantic League, playing 100 games there before getting a late look in AA with the Frisco RoughRiders. His combined slash line was .295/.397/.489, as he was adding power to his already outstanding on-base ability. He made the Sally League All-Star team, won a Gold Glove in the outfield, and was named a Rangers organizational All-Star.

In 2023, he spent the bulk of the season with Frisco in the Texas League, except for a short rehabilitation assignment with the ACL Rangers, and 8 games in AAA with the Round Rock Express. Once again, his numbers were excellent, as he hit .288/.413/.450 in 108 games, scoring 79 runs. He was named to the Texas League postseason All-Star team. He continued to impress after his call-up, batting .307 with a .413 OBP in 23 games for Texas. The Rangers had no choice but to add him to their postseason roster, and started him in left field as they swept the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card Series. He reached base in six of eight plate appearances over the two games, with two doubles and a homer, and suddenly he was baseball's latest rookie sensation. He continued to hit well over the remainder of the postseason, collecting a record 9 doubles as he helped the Rangers to the first championship in franchise history when they defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games in the 2023 World Series.

Carter had a difficult first full season, however. After being joined by fellow rookie outfielder Wyatt Langford in the opening day lineup on March 28th (he was in left field and Langford was the DH), he hit just .220 in March/April and had fallen to .188 in 45 games by May 26th. Two days later, he was placed on the injured list with a lumbar sprain, then was transferred to the 60-day injured list at the end of July and never returned. He scored 23 runs with 5 homers and 15 RBIs in his two months in the Show, with an OPS+ of just 80.

Notable Achievements

• Won one World Series with the Texas Rangers in 2023

Further Reading

• David Adler: "The 21-year-old stealing the show this postseason", mlb.com, October 9, 2023. [1]
• Jim Callis: "Texas surprised the industry drafting Carter in '20. Here's how it happened", mlb.com, October 12, 2023. [2]
• Nathan Han: "Carter doesn't have a house, but he's making a home for himself with Rangers", mlb.com, October 26, 2023. [3]
• Stephen Hawkins (The Associated Press): "Calm Carter keeps getting on base for Rangers. Bochy wonders if the kid even realizes he's in majors", Yahoo! Sports, October 5, 2023. [4]
• Kennedi Landry: "Rangers promote Carter to Triple-A on top prospect's birthday", mlb.com, August 29, 2023. [5]
• Kennedi Landry: "Top prospects Carter, Langford working in tandem in spring", mlb.com, February 25, 2024. [6]
• Kennedi Landry: "Carter ready for 2025 after valuable learning experience", mlb.com, January 22, 2025. [7]
• Mike Petriello: "Carter, Langford duo makes Texas a unique defending champ: Rookies each projected for more than 500 plate appearances", mlb.com, March 14, 2024. [8]

Related Sites

• Evan Carter on mlb.com