When Kerry Carpenter walked into the Tigers’ clubhouse for the first time this spring, the reality hit him. This is his first time in the big-league locker room. Last year he was a prospect on the fringes, just another name in the system. Now he was walking through the doors and getting a boisterous greeting from the don of the Tigers’ clubhouse himself, Miguel Cabrera.
“It’s a special feeling,” Carpenter said. “But I feel ready.”
Carpenter was perhaps the best story in the Tigers’ system last year. In 2020, he was still grieving over losing his father to liver cancer. He worked at Dick’s Sporting Goods to help make ends meet during the pandemic season. He was a 19th-round draft pick who went on the have a solid 2021 in Double-A Erie.
Last spring, though, Carpenter emerged on a whole other level.... - The Athletic
Yup, he needed an upgrade. Prob was on my list somewhere
