Rangers' Carter finds fences while Leiter misses bats
The spotlights on Double-A Frisco are pretty bright right now, with Evan Carter and Jack Leiter in the fold.
On Wednesday night, the pair showed why that is the case.
Carter, the Rangers' top prospect and No. 37 overall, according to MLB Pipeline, mashed a pair of home runs on a season-high four-RBI night. That was all starter Leiter (MLB's No. 72 prospect) and the Frisco bullpen needed to help secure a 7-1 victory over host San Antonio.
Batting in the leadoff spot, Carter began the game by walking and stealing second base, but was erased at home on a double play to end that half of the inning. Then Leiter came out for his second start of the season, working in and out of trouble by giving up a leadoff walk and a single.
In the second inning, Carter showed off his power with a three-run homer to right-center field off righty reliever Edwuin Bencomo. He was just getting started, though. Texas' 2022 Minor League Player of the Year launched his second moonshot of the night in his next at-bat in the fourth against righty Kevin Kopps.
“You just try to stay confident, no matter what’s happening,” Carter said. “Baseball’s got a funny way of humbling everybody, so you don’t want to get a big ego, or get arrogant or anything. Just trying to keep the confidence rolling, and hopefully everything keeps going good.”
What went well for Carter also helped out Leiter and the Frisco pitching staff. The fourth-ranked Rangers prospect allowed one run on four hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Even in the fourth, when Evan Mendoza singled in a run off Leiter, the 2021 second overall pick retired all three outs in the frame via the strikeout.
“I think his slider was doing really good for him tonight, getting a lot of swing-and-misses, and obviously his fastball’s electric,” Carter said. “So playing his slider off of his fastball I think was a really good combo.”
Carter, who doubled his season RBI total during the game, struck out in the sixth and walked again in the ninth.
The Texas organization has grown accustomed to seeing a lot of offensive production out of their outfield prospect, who hit .429 with eight runs and seven RBIs in six games after being promoted to Double-A at the end of last season. He contributed three RBIs and two runs over four games in the Texas League playoffs Frisco rode off with its first championship in 18 years.
That's the kind of promise Carter and Leiter are already showing in the fledgling season.
“It’s exciting,” Carter said. “You kind of get the glimpse of what’s hopefully the future of the organization. When everybody’s clicking on all their cylinders, it’s fun. It’s a lot of fun to play with, and hopefully it’s a lot of fun to watch too.”