The Milwaukee Brewers currently hold an 11-15 record, good for fourth in the NL Central. But don’t tell first baseman Chris Carter, who’s having a career year in nearly all respects, making his one year, $2.5 million signing look like a great deal by Brewers GM David Stearns.
Carter’s stats so far speak for themselves. His nine homeruns are good for third in the NL; his 21 RBIs and 17 runs are sixth and eleventh, respectively. But Carter’s plate discipline has been a distinct improvement since he joined this Milwaukee squad: he’s batting at a .287 clip, more than 60 points above his abysmal .220 career batting average. Currently, Carter is 6-for-13 over his last three games with four homeruns.
It’s been a long career for Carter, who is just beginning to turn heads with his play. He was drafted to and signed by the Chicago White Sox in the 15th round of the 2005 amateur draft, but didn’t make his MLB debut until 2010 with the Oakland Athletics. After three years with the Houston Astros in a starting role, in which he failed to eclipse a line of .227/.320/.491 and led the MLB in strikeouts in 2013, the Brewers signed the power hitter to a one-year contract.
Already, Carter’s plate discipline is beginning to show. He’s on pace for career highs in on-base percentage and has already taken 11 walks. As a result of taking more pitches, Carter’s extra-base hits have shot up – he had just 41 last year (17 doubles, 21 home runs) in 391 at-bats, and already has 19 this year (10 doubles, 9 home runs) in only 87 at-bats. Yes, you read that correctly – just six of Carter’s 25 hits on this year haven’t been for extra bases.
Amongst trade talks for Ryan Braun and Jonathon Lucroy, Carter may provide a spark on offense for the Brewers going forward. The group of three leads the team in average, runs, and WAR. Encouragingly enough, Carter is playing far better in Miller Park, launching eight of his nine home runs and batting around 100 points better in Milwaukee than away. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Carter is benefitting from batting in the five spot behind Braun and Lucroy. If he’s to stay there all season, the Brewers will reap the dividends.
Though the season is young and many parts of the Brewers team need a lot of work, the signing of the 29-year-old Carter has proven as likely one of the best additions of the offseason. Carter will look to continue his hot streak as the Brewers finish off their four-game series at home against the Angels on Wednesday.