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Carson Fulmer

Dodgers Select Carson Fulmer, Place Mitch White On COVID-IL

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The Dodgers have some roster moves prior to tonight’s game, including the selection of Carson Fulmer’s minor league contract.  Los Angeles also called up utilityman Zach McKinstry from Triple-A.  In corresponding moves, right-hander Mitch White was placed on the COVID-related injury list, and righty Andre Jackson was sent down to Triple-A.

Assuming he makes an appearance for the Dodgers, Fulmer will pitch for his fifth different team in the last four seasons.  All told, Fulmer has a 6.41 ERA over 130 2/3 career big league innings from 2016-21, pitching most recently with the Reds last season.  Cincinnati claimed Fulmer off waivers from the Pirates during Spring Training, and the righty had a 6.66 ERA in 25 2/3 frames of work before the Reds outrighted him off their 40-man roster in May.

The eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, Fulmer has yet to live up to the promise of his high selection, struggling in both the majors and at Triple-A.  Fulmer has looked generally good with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate this year, posting a 2.31 ERA with a 25% strikeout rate over 11 2/3 relief innings.  However, Fulmer also has a 16.7% walk rate, continuing to display the control problems that have plagued much of his pro career.

West Notes: Alvarez, Fulmer, Dodgers, Pint, Rockies, Perez, Astros

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Right-hander Yadier Alvarez is in camp with the Dodgers, tweets Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register. Alvarez was once a highly-touted prospect, with the Dodgers giving him a $16MM signing bonus in 2015 and Baseball America ranking him as the 26th prospect across the league in 2017. Despite being selected to the team’s 40-man roster prior to the 2019 season, there were concerns with his lack of control. In 2018, he pitched 48 1/3 innings at Double-A with an excellent 30% strikeout rate but a ghastly 20% walk rate.

In 2019, injuries limited him to just 3 2/3 Double-A innings and he was designated for assignment in March of 2020, eventually clearing waivers and being outrighted to the minors. Of course, the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues that year and Alvarez was only able to throw 3 2/3 Arizona Complex League innings in 2021. Despite all of those ups and downs, Alvarez is still relatively young, turning 26 on Tuesday. One silver lining of losing his roster spot two years ago is that he is not affected by the ongoing lockout, giving him a chance to show the Dodgers’ brass that he still has something to offer.

Another hurler looking for a bounceback with the Dodgers is Carson Fulmer, whom the club selected from the Reds in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft in December. Originally selected 8th overall by the White Sox in the 2015 draft, Fulmer also cracked Baseball America’s Top 100, coming in at #70 in 2016. However, he has struggled to establish himself in the majors, putting up a walk rate above 10% in each of the past six seasons. After bouncing around the waiver wire multiple times in recent years, he eventually cleared waivers in May of 2021. Plunkett spoke to the 28-year-old, who credits his former Vanderbilt teammate Walker Buehler with his current opportunity. “I think that he had chirped at the front office a little bit and tried to get me over here,” Fulmer joked. “He was excited (when the Dodgers acquired Fulmer). At the end of the day, he knows what I’m capable of. He just wanted me to be in the right place, the right situation.” Much like Alvarez, the loss of his roster spot gives Fulmer the benefit of participating in Spring Training and the upcoming minor league season, despite the lockout.

More news from teams in the west…

  • Much like Alvarez and Fulmer, Riley Pint was a highly-touted youngster who dealt with control issues. Selected by the Rockies with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft, Pint eventually cracked Baseball America’s Top 100 list at #46 in 2017. But from that point on, his stock continued dropping due to the aforementioned control problems. In 2021, he pitched 10 2/3 innings at High-A with an incredible 34.7% strikeout rate but and inflated 20.4% walk rate. That’s a small sample, of course, but largely indicative of his body of work in the minors. Pint retired in June of last year but has now un-retired, as reported by Thomas Harding of MLB.com. “Everybody is on his own time frame. I always love seeing the kid,” says Rockies player development director Chris Forbes “He’s a fantastic kid. I’m glad to see him back.” Pint just turned 24 in November, meaning there’s plenty of time for him to rebuild his stock in the game if he can get back on track and improve his control.
  • The ongoing lockout carries negative consequences for every player in the union, but among those with the potential to be most affected are those who have earned 40-man roster spots but were likely to spend this year in the minors. With Spring Training and the regular season both now delayed, they are losing crucial development time, along with losing access to team trainers and development staff. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle spoke to some Astros’ prospects who were recently added to the team’s roster but were then locked out almost immediately after. This includes a surreal story of an absent-minded coach texting infielder Joe Perez, looking for a status update, with Perez having to politely remind the team employee that he’s not allowed to respond. “It’s definitely been something extraordinary,” Perez said.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/24/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Reds announced that right-hander Carson Fulmer has been outrighted to Triple-A Louisville.  Fulmer cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Saturday.  It marks a rare trip through DFA limbo for Fulmer that didn’t result in a change of address, as the righty has been claimed off waivers five times since July 2020.  The Reds were the fifth team to claim Fulmer, and he has a 6.66 ERA over 25 2/3 relief innings for Cincinnati this season.

Reds Place Nick Senzel, Wade Miley On 10-Day Injured List

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The Reds placed infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel and left-hander Wade Miley on the 10-day injured list, the team announced.  Senzel is dealing with left knee inflammation while Miley has a left foot sprain.  In other moves, Cincinnati also designated right-hander Carson Fulmer for assignment, selected the contract of right-hander Brad Brach, and called up outfielder Scott Heineman and righty Ashton Goudeau.

Senzel has missed the last three games with the knee issue, and he’ll now make what has unfortunately become a rather familiar trip to the injured list.  The 25-year-old has been set back by a wide variety of health problems in his young career, ranging from shoulder surgery to injuries to his ankle, groin, and finger, as well an illness-related absence last season and multiple bouts of vertigo.  The second overall pick of the 2016 draft, Senzel has yet to really capitalize on his potential due to all these injuries, with a modest .246/.308/.396 slash line over his first 616 plate appearances in the majors.

Miley left his most recent start after 4 2/3 innings due to his foot injury.  An MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage, so it’s possible Miley could return after just the minimum 10 days, and perhaps only miss one start thanks to a Reds off-day on May 24.  The veteran southpaw has a 3.50 ERA/3.72 SIERA over 43 2/3 innings this season, succeeding despite a below-average strikeout rate by limiting hard contact.  Miley’s year, of course, was highlighted by his no-hitter against the Indians on May 7.

Brach signed a minors contract with Cincinnati earlier this month, after he elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate in April.  The 35-year-old has already been a member of three different organizations in 2021, after being released by the Mets in February.  Brach’s first appearance for the Reds will officially put him on the books for his 11th Major League season, though he struggled over 66 2/3 innings with the Cubs and Mets in 2019-20.

Fulmer has been well-traveled himself over the last year, as he has been claimed five times off the DFA wire since July 2020.  Beginning with the White Sox, Fulmer’s sojourn included stints with the Tigers, Orioles, and two different stops with the Pirates before landing with the Reds in March.  The results haven’t been good for Fulmer in Cincinnati, however, as he posted a 6.66 ERA over 25 2/3 frames out of the Reds bullpen.  It’s probably fair to assume that Fulmer’s time with the Reds could be nearing an end, given his past popularity on the waiver wire.

Goudeau can even top Fulmer’s mark, as Goudeau has been a part of six different waiver claims and six different organizations since November.  After making his MLB debut with 8 1/3 innings for the Rockies in 2020, Goudeau now looks to be in line to make his first Major League appearance of 2021 after his many trips through DFA limbo.

Reds Claim Carson Fulmer

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The Reds announced they’ve claimed right-hander Carson Fulmer off waivers from the Pirates. Pittsburgh designated Fulmer for assignment last week to create 40-man roster space after acquiring Duane Underwood Jr.

Fulmer has pitched parts of five seasons at the major league level and has yet to find much success. Over 105 career innings, he has just a 6.34 ERA/5.41 SIERA. Fulmer has posted worse than average strikeout (18.9%), walk (13.9%) and groundball (37.5%) rates.

In spite of the poor results, the 27-year-old has continued to attract interest around the league. Within the past eight months, the former eighth overall pick has been claimed off waivers by the Tigers, Pirates (twice) and Orioles. In each situation, the claiming team had been near the top of the league by waiver priority. Fulmer fell a little farther down the waiver order this time around, but he’ll find another landing spot nonetheless.

It’s hardly a surprise to see the Reds put in a claim for Fulmer. The Cincinnati organization has been rather open about their affinity for pitchers with high spin rates, and Fulmer certainly qualifies. The 27-year-old sat in the 91st percentile in fastball spin and 88th percentile in curveball spin last season, per Statcast. While that has yet to translate to MLB performance, there’s no harm for the Reds in taking a flier. Fulmer is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to either break camp with the big league club or else again be offered to rival teams.

Pirates Acquire Duane Underwood, Designate Carson Fulmer

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The Pirates announced the acquisition of reliever Duane Underwood Jr. from the Cubs. First base prospect Shendrik Apostel will go to Chicago in return. To create 40-man roster space, Pittsburgh designated right-hander Carson Fulmer for assignment.

Underwood, 26, has thrown 36.1 innings out of the Chicago bullpen over the past three seasons. His 5.20 ERA isn’t particularly impressive, but Underwood has shown some promising peripherals. The right-hander has struck out an impressive 27.7% of hitters at the MLB level against a solid 7.7% walk rate. He was at his best last season, racking up strikeouts at a 30.7% clip while walking only 6.8% of batters. The right-hander averages just under 95 MPH on his fastball and also features a curveball and changeup, the latter of which has gotten plenty of whiffs in limited major league action.

Nevertheless, the Cubs designated Underwood for assignment earlier in the week. He never managed to stake a claim to a permanent spot in the Chicago bullpen, thanks largely to persistent trouble keeping the ball in the yard. Underwood is also out of options, meaning he can’t be sent to the minor leagues without being exposed to other teams. That’s less a concern for the rebuilding Pirates than it was for the playoff-hopeful Cubs.

Acquiring Underwood bumps Fulmer from the Pittsburgh roster for the second time in six months. The former eighth overall pick has been claimed off waivers by the Tigers, Pirates (twice) and Orioles going back to last July but hasn’t found a permanent home. Teams clearly remain intrigued by his promise, though. Fulmer has just a 6.34 ERA with poor strikeout (18.9%) and walk (13.9%) numbers over 105 MLB innings. Like Underwood, he is out of options. Any acquiring team must therefore keep him on the active roster or else again offer him to other clubs.

In exchange for Underwood, the Cubs pick up Apostel, a 20-year-old first baseman who signed with the Pirates out of Curacao. He had a .252/.381/.463 line in the Dominican Summer League between 2018-19. His older brother Sherten Apostel also originally signed with the Pirates and made his MLB debut last season with the Rangers.

Pirates Claim Carson Fulmer From Orioles

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The Pirates announced Monday that for the second time this season, they’ve claimed right-hander Carson Fulmer off waivers. Pittsburgh claimed Fulmer off waivers from the Tigers in late August but lost him to the Orioles in early September before he ever pitched a game in Pittsburgh. Baltimore apparently tried to pass Fulmer through waivers themselves in order to retain him without committing a 40-man roster spot to him, but the Bucs put in a claim to bring him back.

Fulmer, 26, hasn’t lived up to the billing since being selected by the White Sox with the No. 8 overall pick back in 2015. At various points, the former Vanderbilt star was even considered a potential No. 1 overall pick, but he’s struggled in the upper minors with the ChiSox and been hit hard at virtually every point in his up-and-down Major League career.

To this point, Fulmer owns a woeful 6.34 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 in 105 Major League innings. But there’s plenty of pedigree here, and he still possesses high-end spin rates on his heater and curveball. His time in the Orioles organization was brief but also encouraging, as Fulmer tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts and without a hit. He did walk two batters and plunk another one, however, so his longstanding control issues are still making themselves plainly evident.

Fulmer is out of minor league options, so the Pirates will have to carry him on the Opening Day roster next year or else attempt yet again to pass him through waivers in order to keep him around. He hasn’t even come close to going unclaimed at this point, so that might be unlikely. The Tigers had the top waiver priority when they claimed him from the White Sox on Opening Day, and the Pirates had the top claim priority when they plucked him from Detroit the first time around. Ten teams passed before the Orioles won their claim on him earlier this month, and the Pirates again claimed him with top priority this time around.

Orioles Claim Carson Fulmer

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The Orioles have claimed right-hander Carson Fulmer off waivers from the Pirates, the team announced.  The Fulmer move was one of a series of transactions made this afternoon by the O’s, who also called up righty David Hess from their alternate training site, sent right-hander Evan Phillips to the alternate site, and added infield prospect Rylan Bannon to the 60-man player pool.  This is all in addition to the most notable news of the day for the club, as breakout star Anthony Santander is headed to the injured list with a potentially season-ending injury.

Fulmer will be joining his fourth organization in less than two months, as the 26-year-old has already been a waiver claim for both the Pirates and Tigers since being originally designated for assignment by the White Sox back on July 23.  Fulmer is out of options, which is why teams have been unable to just send him to their alternate training sites without another club pouncing on the right-hander on the waiver wire.  Within this whirlwind of movement, Fulmer has amassed 6 2/3 innings pitched this season, all with Detroit, with a 6.75 ERA.

The eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, Fulmer has yet to live up to expectations in the majors, with a career 6.57 ERA, 1.34 K/BB rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 101 1/3 career IP with the Tigers and White Sox.  Given his prospect pedigree and relatively young age, it isn’t hard to see why the Orioles (and other clubs) have been interested in taking a look at Fulmer as a potential post-hype breakout player.

Bannon, 24, was an eight-round pick for the Orioles in the 2017 draft.  A product of Xavier University, Bannon has a .280/.375/.481 slash line and 43 home runs over 1234 career minor league plate appearances, which included 90 PA and 20 games with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate in 2019.  It remains to be seen if the O’s have Bannon in mind for a September call-up, though he will provide depth as both a second baseman and third baseman if he does make his MLB debut this year.

Pirates Designate Carson Fulmer For Assignment

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The Pirates announced that they have designated right-hander Carson Fulmer for assignment. The club also reinstated righty Joe Musgrove from the injured list, reinstated outfielder Bryan Reynolds from the paternity list and optioned infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna.

The Pirates are already the third team since July for Fulmer, who has gone from Chicago to Detroit to Pittsburgh in the past month-plus. Fulmer was once a highly regarded prospect, but it hasn’t translated to success in the majors for the 26-year-old, who owns a 6.57 ERA/6.33 FIP across 101 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Tigers. He hasn’t appeared in a big league game with the Pirates, who claimed him from the Tigers on Aug. 24, and could soon leave the organization. Fulmer’s out of options, though, so it’s possible no other team will take a chance on him.

Musgrove, out since Aug. 11 with right triceps inflammation, is scheduled to start for the Pirates against the Cubs on Wednesday. Musgrove started 2020 poorly before his IL placement (6.75 ERA/6.83 FIP in 14 2/3 innings), but he was a capable starter for the Pirates from 2018-19 and could boost his trade value heading into the offseason with a strong finish. Musgrove nearly went from Pittsburgh to Toronto before Monday’s trade deadline, but the two sides couldn’t come together on a deal.

Pirates Claim Carson Fulmer, Designate Guillermo Heredia

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The Pirates announced Monday that they’ve claimed right-hander Carson Fulmer off waivers from the Tigers and designated outfielder Guillermo Heredia for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster.

Pittsburgh will be the third team in 2020 to try its hand in helping Fulmer to right the ship. The 26-year-old was selected by the White Sox with the No. 8 overall pick back in 2015. At the time, the Vanderbilt star was viewed as a potential high-end starter or at the very least a high-probability late-inning reliever. But he’s struggled virtually every step of the way since Triple-A, pitching to an ugly 5.39 ERA in parts of four seasons there and a less-palatable 6.57 mark in 101 1/3 MLB frames. The Tigers claimed him last month after the White Sox designated him for assignment.

Fulmer’s average fastball in 2020 sat at 92.3 mph — a far cry from the righty’s college days, when scouting reports pegged him as touching 97 mph with regularity. He boasted elite spin rates on his four-seamer and curveball as recently as last season, though, and Fulmer did manage a career-best 12.8 percent swinging-strike rate in this year’s tiny sample of 6 2/3 innings with the Tigers. That’s about all that went right for Fulmer, but the pitching-hungry Pirates were quick to snap him up on waivers in hopes that their staff can coax something more out of him. Fulmer is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to stick on the Bucs’ big league roster or else be designated for assignment a third time.

As for Heredia, he signed a one-year, $1MM contract with the Pirates over the winter but hasn’t delivered for the club. The 29-year-old appeared in just eight games and tallied a mere 18 plate appearances earlier this year before being optioned to the club’s alternate training site. Clearly the team wasn’t happy with what it saw there.

Heredia has appeared in 390 Major League games, mostly with the Mariners, and posted a combined .239/.317/.339 batting line. As a solid outfield defender with a bit of speed and a career .275/.338/.400 batting line against lefties, he can be a useful bench piece when he’s at his best, but he won’t get that opportunity with the Pirates, it seems. Pittsburgh will have a week to trade Heredia, release him or attempt to run him through outright waivers. He’d have enough service time to reject the outright assignment, but doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of his guaranteed salary.

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