CLEARWATER, Fla. -- So, a few weeks ago, we told you about Drew Carpenter, the 19-game winner last season at Class A Clearwater who wasn't invited to major-league spring training by the Phillies. After I talked to farm director Steve Noworyta and others, it became clear that if there's an overlooked pitcher in camp who has the potential to be the next Kyle Kendrick, it's probably Carpenter, a second-round pick in 2006 from Long Beach (Calif.) State.Anyway, Carpenter just had a pretty big day.
In their final Grapefruit League game at Bright House Field, the Phillies brought Carpenter over from the minor-league complex to relieve Brett Myers. He tossed four scoreless innings against the Yankees in an outing that featured several highlights. Take your pick:
- Sixth inning: He walked Bobby Abreu with one out, then got Alex Rodriguez to ground into a double play.
- Seventh inning: He struck out the side, including Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada.
- Ninth inning: After loading the bases with no outs, he struck out Nick Green, got Jose Molina to foul out to the catcher and caught Chris Woodward looking at strike three.
The last time a young Phillies pitcher looked so good against the Yankees in spring training, Cole Hamels was striking out Tony Clark, Derek Jeter and A-Rod in 2004. That wasn't enough to get Hamels, then a Class A pitcher, a spot on the roster, and Carpenter's performance today won't win him a job, either. But Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee were effusive in their postgame praise of Carpenter, and if he gets off to a good start at Class AA Reading, it wouldn't be surprising to see him get called up to Philly.
Then, he really would be the next Kendrick.
1 comment:
Kendrick wont be on the ML roster by the all star break.
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