Drew Michael Carlton (born September 8, 1995) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the San Diego Padres of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

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Career

Detroit Tigers

Carlton attended George Jenkins High School in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

, and

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. The

drafted him in the 32nd round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. In his first season with the organization, Carlton progressed quickly, earning a late-season call-up to the Single-A

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark. ...

by the end of the year following 14 innings of two-run ball in Low-A Connecticut. Carlton's successes would continue the following season, pitching with the High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers for the majority of the year with a 2.38 ERA over 56.2 innings in 34 appearances with a 1.01 WHIP. He would move up to the Double-A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

that season, where he made five appearances, allowing two earned runs in 11 innings pitched. He remained in Erie for the entire 2019 season, serving as the team's primary closer, going 19/20 in save opportunities with a 1.46 ERA in 68 innings pitched. Carlton's WHIP was under one (0.97) and he allowed just a .200 batting average against while striking out 65. In 2020, Carlton, like many minor league players, missed the minor league season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, however, that winter, Carlton would move out to the Dominican Republic to play for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League. In the Winter League, Carlton gave up just nine hits, one walk, and one run over 14.1 innings. To begin the 2021 season, Carlton pitched for the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. He pitched 49 innings with a 3.12 ERA, ten walks and 48 strikeouts. Carlton was called up and made his Major League debut on September 4, 2021. In his debut he threw only one pitch, retiring

Delino DeShields Jr. Delino Diaab DeShields (born August 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball center fielder who is a free agent. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers from 2015 through 2019, the Cleveland Indians in 2020, and t ...

with a runner at third and two outs. At the time of his call-up, 17 of the 31 players drafted ahead of Carlton by the Tigers in 2017 were no longer playing in the league. On November 9, 2021, Carlton was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He was assigned to Triple-A Toledo to begin the 2022 season. In 15.0 innings of work, he recorded a 3.60 ERA and 30.2% strikeout rate. On May 20, 2022, Carlton had his contract selected to the 40-man and active roster. On July 15, 2022, Carlton was designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Toledo on July 19. On October 13, Carlton elected free agency.

San Diego Padres

On December 12, 2022, Carlton signed a minor league deal with an invite to spring training with the San Diego Padres. He was assigned to the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas to begin the 2023 season, where he pitched to a 1.13 ERA with 18 strikeouts across 13 appearances. On May 15, 2023, Carlton's contract was selected to the active roster.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlton, Drew 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Lakeland, Florida Baseball players from Polk County, Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Detroit Tigers players San Diego Padres players Florida State Seminoles baseball players Gulf Coast Tigers players Connecticut Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Leones del Escogido players Toledo Mud Hens players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic