Carson Fulmer is still in the big leagues, mostly because he's a glutton for punishment.
That's true in the sense that every journeyman player is, as Fulmer has been DFA'd six times over the course of his career since the White Sox drafted him eighth overall in 2015. But it's also because he's carved out a niche in the Angels' bullpen as a guy who will be ready to throw on any given day, and for any amount of innings. He made an impression last season when he threw four innings and 70 pitches of long relief, then took the ball next day and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth on 12 pitches. The Angels still DFA'd him, but he clawed his way back by signing late in the spring, and he's already thrown 60 pitches on two different occasions this season.
As you might expect, the numbers are kind of a mess. On one hand he has a 2.88 ERA over 25 innings in Anaheim the last two season. On the other, he's allowed 15 free baserunners against 19 strikeouts. It doesn't scream "sustainable," but for somebody like Fulmer, it balances out as a success.
The Athletic's Sam Blum wrote about Fulmer, which necessitates a discussion about the White Sox's handling of him. I wouldn't be writing about this if only talked about the White Sox slowing down his delivery, because that's been well-worn territory.
What's interesting is this:
Fulmer believes that his natural delivery provided a lot of deception for his best pitch, the changeup. He also says he has something of a rubber arm. One that is largely unfazed by heavy and strenuous work.
He throws his changeup nearly as often as his fastball nowadays, but all of the available scouting reports said his curveball was his best secondary pitch, although the changeup was considered above-average for a third pitch as well. The entire arsenal is what made him a top-10 draft prospect, because his ability to mix up sequences was supposed to be one way to make up for a lack of starter-grade command. But hey, 2015 was a long time ago, so it's understandable if the past gets a little hazy.
The point is, with Fulmer still kicking, you can't close the book on the most successful White Sox draft pick of 2015. A look at the leaderboard:
- Seby Zavala, 0.1 bWAR, 2.3 fWAR over 541 PA
- Danny Mendick, 0.3 bWAR, 0.2 fWAR over 556 PA
- Carson Fulmer, -0.6 bWAR, -0.8 fWAR over 154.2 IP
Charlotte 6, Gwinnett 2
- Colson Montgomery went 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Oscar Colás was 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout.
- Dominic Fletcher was 0-for-3 with a walk.
Pensacola 3, Birmingham 1
- Terrell Tatum went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Brooks Baldwin, 2-for-4 with a double.
- Edgar Quero was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Wilfred Veras, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Tim Elko was 1-for-4 with a K.
- Jacob Burke went 1-for-3 with a K.
- Ky Bush: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 65 of 97 pitches for strikes.
- Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Highlights:
*In his White Sox organizational debut since coming over from Texas in the Robbie Grossman trade, Hoopii-Tuionetoa gave up a three-run homer that accounted for both of Bush's runs:
Asheville 6, Winston-Salem 4
- Loidel Chapelli and Samuel Zavala both were 0-for-4.
- Jacob Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a double, strikeout and stolen base.
- Calvin Harris singled twice, walked and struck out.
- Noah Schultz: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 38 of 60 pitches for strikes.
- Jared Kelley's return to High-A: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HBP, 24 of 44 pitches for strikes.
Kannapolis 7, Delmarva 1
- Rikuu Nishida went 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Eddie Park was 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Ronny Hernandez, 0-for-5.
- Lucas Gordon: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
ACL White Sox 13, ACL Royals 5
- Ryan Burrowes went 3-for-5 with a walk and a strikeout.
- George Wolkow doubled twice, singled twice and struck out once.
- Javier Mogollon is settling in: 1-for-3 with a double, three walks, a strikeout and a stolen base.
- Adrian Gil went 1-for-4 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
- Stiven Flores went 2-for-5 with a walk, strikeout and stolen base.
- Abraham Nunez, 2-for-4 with a walk.
- Jordany Chirinos: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Notes:
*The ACL White Sox racked up 19 hits and seven walks.
