'I have my fun out there': Carter mixes it up on the mound

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- There was a little extra spice to Irv Carter’s bullpen session on Friday afternoon at the Blue Jays’ complex in Dunedin.

After Carter lets a heavy fastball go, he sets for his next pitch, lifts his knee high, then hesitates for a split second before he drives down the mound. It’s the first of several wrinkles that Carter mixes in into his deliveries, and while it adds some style, there’s substance to the strategy.

It’s hard to dance to a song when you don’t know the next note.

“I love that. I talk to a lot of batters, and they tell me that their best friend is a perfect dance partner,” Carter explains, “so if I can do anything to disrupt that timing in any way, I’m going to do so. I don’t really do it a lot, but I look for when the timing is right and the batter is right. You have to mix it in. I have my fun out there.”

You’ve seen this in a Blue Jays uniform before, of course. Marcus Stroman broke out a dozen different deliveries per game in his six seasons with the Blue Jays, particularly toward the end. Much like Johnny Cueto, his hesitations, shimmies and surprising arm slots were all meant to disrupt a hitter’s timing.

“I get most of my stuff -- the timing and the different deliveries -- from [Stroman],” Carter said. “It’s funny, too, because when I got drafted, he FaceTimed me and we had a good talk.”

Stroman got Carter up to speed on Toronto, the city and its fans. Carter isn’t short on energy, but Stroman's reviews had the 19-year-old buzzing. The big right-hander was committed to play NCAA ball at Miami, but the Blue Jays selected him in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft and signed him away with an $850,000 bonus, significantly above the slot value and the second-highest bonus in their class behind No. 19 overall pick Gunnar Hoglund.

Carter had two in-depth Zoom calls with the Blue Jays leading up to the Draft and visited the complex for a workout, creating what he felt was “by far the best connection” with any club. When they came calling, his decision was suddenly easy.

The Blue Jays brought him in for a Draft Camp in July, followed by instructs and a physical development camp before he returned home in November to work through his offseason program. He’s bigger now, trading in “some of the baby fat” for healthy muscle, and the results show. Carter has been touching 96 mph -- up from his 94 mph around Draft time -- and he’s been developing his sinker alongside a slider and circle change.

Beyond Stroman, Carter grew up idolizing the late José Fernandez. His other guy is Max Scherzer, both for his pitching and how he controls the mound, so this offseason was a real treat for the young pro.

“I was training at Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach, and I had the opportunity to train side-by-side with him,” Carter said. “Just seeing him on the mound and how he works in the gym, he takes nothing off. I was blessed to have that. That’s a three-time Cy. I was obviously not trying to be the guy who’s talking a bunch, so when I’m around those guys, those legends, I’m just trying to be the biggest sponge I can.”

Carter comes with an energy and enthusiasm that the front office loves, but he recognizes that channeling that properly is what can divide good and great pitchers. Alek Manoah is a prime example of this with the Blue Jays, learning to use his endless supply of energy to keep him moving straight ahead instead of spinning off in any direction.

There are different ways to go about this. Some carry their big personality onto the field, others draw a hard line.

“It’s a total 180, the person I am off the field and me on the mound,” Carter said. “When I’m on the mound, it’s all business. I want to lock in, hone in and focus for that amount of time. After, I’m the funnest guy in the world and I want to be nice to everybody. On the field and off the field, though, it’s two different guys. On the mound, I view myself as an assassin. Off the field, I’m just a really good friend to everybody.”

It’s likely Carter spends a good chunk of his 2022 season with Single-A Dunedin with the new development complex nearby. Combine Carter’s age, his frame and velocity he’s already added, and you have one of the most enticing pitching prospects in the system. Between him, Hoglund, Ricky Tiedemann, Chad Dallas, Hayden Juenger and others, the 2021 Draft’s pitching class is already collectively trending up, too.