Kerry Carpenter

Kerry William Carpenter

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 220 lb.
• School Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• High School Eustis High School
• Debut August 10, 2022

• Born September 2, 1997 in Eustis, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Kerry Carpenter reached the majors with the Detroit Tigers in August of 2022 after having been drafted by Detroit in the 19th round of the 2019 amateur draft from Virginia Tech. That was quite a rapid rise through the team's farm system given his relatively low draft rank, and the fact that he had had to sit out the 2019 season when the minor leagues were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 31 games his first season, he hit .252 with 6 homers and 10 RBIs for an OPS+ of 125.

After his solid debut, he won a spot on the Tigers' opening day roster in 2023 and was used as a sometimes right fielder and DH, sitting down against most lefties and having another very good year with the bat. On August 25th, he ended a bid for a no-hitter by the Houston Astros when he singled off reliever Bryan Abreu with one out in the 8th after Framber Valdéz had started the game with seven hitless innings, having thrown a complete game no-hitter earlier in the month. Carpenter's hit helped to wake up the Tigers' bats, as they staged a dramatic comeback with two outs in the 9th to win the game, 4-1, on the first career homer by fellow youngster Parker Meadows. He ended the year at .278 in 118 games, with 20 homers and 64 RBIs for an OPS+ of 122. In 2024, in between an injury that cost him some time and not starting against lefthanders (Wenceel Pérez was his usual platoon partner in right field), he appeared in just 87 games, but made the most of these as he was arguably the team's best hitter as they surprised just about everyone to make it into the postseason. He batted .284 with 18 homers and 57 RBIs, and his OPS+ was an outstanding 159 (only he and LF Riley Greene were above 100 among regulars for the Tigers that season). He was the hero of Game 2 of the Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians on October 7th, as he hit a three-run homer off closer Emmanuel Clase in the top of the 9th inning, breaking what had been a scoreless tie until then.

Notable Achievements

• 20-Home Runs Seasons: 1 (2023)

Further Reading

• Jason Beck: "Carpenter's dramatic HR stuns Clase in 9th as 'never-quit' Tigers force ALDS tie", mlb.com, October 7, 2024. [1]
• Michael Clair: "Kerry Carpenter can't believe his big league life", mlb.com, April 10, 2024. [2]
• Dave Hogg (The Associated Press): "Carpenter gets Tigers' 1st hit off bullpen after Astros' Valdez pitches 7 no-hit innings", Yahoo! Sports, August 25, 2023. [3]
• Joey Pollizze: "Family in tears after witnessing Tigers prospect's first MLB hit", mlb.com, August 14, 2022. [4]

Related Sites

• Kerry Carpenter on mlb.com
• Virginia Tech bio