Starring in the ALCS at age 21?! Here’s how Texas’ Evan Carter is shining in October
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David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior Writer
Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy has a deep, gravelly voice that suggests the seriousness of a drill sergeant from a World War II movie. However, when asked about Evan Carter, his 21-year-old rookie left fielder who has become a sensation during Texas’ 7-0 start to the postseason, Bochy seems to get a little glow across his face. Is that a smile?
“I’m smiling because he’s always smiling,” Bochy said during the Rangers’ ALDS series against the Baltimore Orioles. “He plays the game you want your guys to play. Have fun. Play with joy. He has that innocence about him you love. Doesn’t matter where you play him or where you hit him, he just loves playing baseball, and he’s playing it like he did two or three years ago when he was playing legion ball.”
Two months ago, Carter was at Double-A Frisco, toiling in 100-degree games across the heat wave of the Texas League. He had just turned 21 years old at the end of August and had emerged as the top prospect for the Rangers, then came his rapid ascension to the spotlight: a week in Triple-A, then a call to the majors on Sept. 8, when Adolis Garcia landed on the injured list because of a knee strain, then his star turn so far in October.
Carter has done nothing but hit since joining the Rangers: .306/.413/.645 with five home runs in 23 regular-season games. He got at least one hit in each of his first six postseason games — including four doubles and a home run — with more walks than strikeouts as he slashed .389/.560/.778. The Rangers won all six games. In their 2-0 victory over the Astros in Game 1 of the ALCS, Carter grounded a ball off the glove of Houston first baseman Jose Abreu in the second inning and hustled into second for a double, scoring the game’s first run on Jonah Heim’s single. In the eighth inning, he navigated the difficult left field obstacle course at Minute Maid Park to make a leaping grab of Alex Bregman’s fly ball, doubling Jose Altuve off first base in the process and swiping momentum away from the Astros.
Echoing his manager, after the game, Carter said, “I’m just having fun, that’s what it’s all about. We’re playing a game. And it’s a fun one, too. I’m just out here having a great time. I have a lot of great teammates around me. We enjoy coming to work every day competing.”
The only players this young with more extra-base hits in one postseason are Juan Soto, Cody Bellinger and Miguel Cabrera — and Carter has more games yet to play. Is this for real? After all, this is still all small-sample stuff, and he’s hitting better in the MLB playoffs than he did in the minors. Is he just on an unlikely run at the right time? Let’s dig into three of Carter’s postseason plate appearances to show why he looks like a future star.
1. Wild Card Series Game 2: Home run off Tampa Bay Rays starter Zach Eflin
The Rangers were up 2-0 with two outs and a runner on third in the fourth inning. Eflin tried to go up and in with a first-pitch cutter but left it out over the middle of the plate, and Carter torched it into the fourth row of the right-field seats with a nice, easy swing — 391 feet with a 102.5 mph exit velocity.
Indeed, that’s the simplest description of Carter’s swing: nice and easy. He stands tall and relaxed at the plate and has very little wasted movement with just a small leg kick and short stride. Talking to him before the Baltimore series, I mentioned that I’d seen MLB Network do a video breakdown of his swing changes since high school. Carter laughed. “Don’t look at my high school swing,” he said. “I had no idea what I was doing.”
To be fair, the swing hasn’t changed much. The biggest differences are that he now stands more upright and has shortened his stride. Minor tweaks. But the clean, line-drive stroke that led to the Rangers picking him in the second round of the 2020 draft out of small-town Elizabethton High School in Tennessee was always there.
Carter’s selection was one of the most surprising in recent draft history. Carter played just three games in his local high school league during the COVID-19-shortened spring season, and he wasn’t included in any pre-draft media rankings. Most teams focused on college players in the shortened five-round draft, and while Carter had a commitment to Duke, many MLB teams hadn’t scouted him because he had attended few of the premier showcase events. Then-Rangers scout Derrick Tucker and longtime scouting director Kip Fagg believed in Carter’s five-tool potential, however, and the Rangers knew the Pirates and Royals were also interested. They took him 50th overall.
Despite injuring his back in 2021 and playing just 32 games that season, Carter quickly rose through the minors with that swing carrying him at each level. The biggest surprise since his call-up has been his power. He had just 13 home runs and 17 doubles in 108 minor league games this season and has already hit eight doubles, one triple and six home runs in his first 30 major league games.
Carter had an easy explanation for that: “The major league balls. They’re a lot livelier.” He hasn’t made any changes since joining the Rangers — no extra emphasis on launch angle or anything like that. “My swing is my swing,” he said.
Carter’s ultimate power production might be the biggest question about his future. He has the hit tool. He has plate discipline. He has speed and is a center fielder playing left because the Rangers have a plus defender in Leody Taveras.
Carter’s average exit velocity in the regular season was 89.0 mph, just a tick above the MLB average of 88.4 (it’s up to 92.0 mph in the postseason). Players with a similar exit velo include Ozzie Albies, Nick Castellanos and Lars Nootbaar, so it’s certainly possible to hit for power with average exit velocity, although a guy like Albies excels at hitting the ball in the air. Carter’s swing is still geared more for line drives. Still, keep in mind how young he is and that he has room to add some weight and strength to his frame.
But there’s another reason Carter’s power might continue to develop: He hits the ball on the barrel. His hard-hit rate — balls struck at 95 mph or better — in the regular season and playoffs has been 45%, well above the MLB average of 36.2%.
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Rangers rookie Evan Carter doubles lead with a HR
Evan Carter slugs a two-run homer to put the Rangers up 4-0 on the Rays.
2. ALDS Game 1: RBI double off Baltimore Orioles starter Kyle Bradish
With the game tied 0-0 in the fourth inning, Garcia on second base and one out, Carter swung at a first-pitch slider at his knees and rifled it into right field, using his speed to beat the throw to second for an RBI double.
In the minors, teammates nicknamed him “Full Count Carter” for his propensity to work the count to the max. Indeed, he drew 81 walks in 513 plate appearances in the minors. But note that both the home run off Eflin and the double off Bradish came against first pitches. The double off Justin Verlander in Game 1 came on a 2-0 pitch — a pitch many batters will take. Carter appears to be adjusting his game to the situation.
“Yeah, you know, hitting doesn’t change for me,” he said in explaining the Bradish at-bat. “But the only thing I guess the mindset was, my change, was situationally there might be more runners on base in front of me, you might be more in an RBI situation. So that showed up for me today, and that was pretty cool. My approach to hitting, nothing changes.”
Carter had been hitting in the No. 9 slot in the batting order, but for the Baltimore series and now against the Houston Astros, Bochy moved him to fifth — a testament not just to how well Carter had been hitting, but the belief the Rangers have that he can handle that position in the lineup.
“From the day I’ve walked in, I’ve heard about Evan’s makeup,” general manager Chris Young said. “Just the person and the character. Those are attributes that will likely serve you well if you continue to progress from a talent standpoint. Certainly, Evan has the talent to go with those intangibles, which have allowed him to come onto this stage at such an early age and perform. … But is it surprising, given the personality and the maturity? No. I think when you have that level of maturity and the way he plays the game and the passion and the work ethic, I think that he’s put himself in a great position to be successful, and he’s seizing that opportunity.”
3. ALCS Game 2: Walk against Houston Astros reliever J.P. France on a 3-2 changeup
Given that “Full Count” nickname, let’s take a look at a final reason we can expect a lot of All-Star Games in Carter’s future: His extraordinary — yes, I’m going here — Joey Votto-like plate discipline. His chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone, including the regular season and playoffs, is 11.8%. Among players with at least 100 plate appearances in 2023, Carter ranks first:
1. Carter: 11.8%
2. Edouard Julien: 14.0%
3. Robbie Grossman: 15.6%
T-4. Juan Soto: 15.7%
T-4. Davis Schneider: 15.7%
Carter explains this like it’s the easiest arithmetic in the world: “The pitcher is trying to paint the black. Why do I want to swing at pitches he’s going to get me out on?” Yes, easy to say, difficult to execute, but — similar to Soto — Carter appears to have acute pitch awareness at a young age. His walk rate through 100 plate appearances is 18%, more than double the MLB average. Only Aaron Judge and Soto had a higher rate in the regular season. Carte is going to be an on-base machine.
“It’s been a very mature approach at the plate for such a young hitter,” teammate Marcus Semien said. “I remember when I was his age, still in the minor leagues, I was still trying to figure things out. A lot more swing and miss. I think he’s learned a lot from what we talk about in spring training as a group. How he’s implemented it, I think he has qualities that we want here.”
As he was coming up through the minors, some scouts wondered if Carter was too passive. His overall swing rate has been 34.4%, which is well below the MLB average of 47.1%, and ranks last out of 463 players with 100 PAs (Soto, by comparison, is at 35.8%). On first pitches, however, it’s 26.0%, which isn’t much below the MLB average of 29.6%, so there are times he is more aggressive. Carter told me he has no idea what his swing rates are. He’s just out there playing baseball.
The scary thing for opponents: Carter appears to be improving as the games get bigger. His strikeout rate in the regular season was 32%; in the postseason, it has dropped to 16%. His OPS in the postseason is a ridiculous 1.338.
But Carter isn’t paying attention to any of those numbers.
“My buddy Tom Saggese [now a St. Louis Cardinals prospect], back in Double-A, always told me never to look at the scoreboard,” Carter said. “So I try not to. I know those numbers are just numbers; you just want to help the team win right now.”
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Greg Wyshynski
ARLINGTON, Va. — Last season, Alex Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky to become the greatest goal scorer in NHL history. A few weeks ago during training camp, he reached another historic milestone: The Washington Capitals captain turned 40.
“Nothing’s changed. Just a different number,” Ovechkin said.
Someone asked Tom Wilson if his linemate had informed him about what 40 feels like.
“I told them that I didn’t need to ask, because I will not be playing hockey when I’m 40,” Wilson said with a laugh. “It’s so impressive. I’m 31 and it’s hard. [Hockey] takes a toll on the body. We all just play as long as we can. I don’t think anybody in that room will be talking about playing when they’re 40, let alone scoring 44 goals and having a broken leg and all that stuff last year. He’s a machine.”
Ovechkin entered the 2025-26 season with 897 career goals, having surpassed Gretzky’s mark of 894 goals. He scored 44 goals in 65 games last season, sitting out 16 games after breaking his left fibula in a Nov. 18 game against the Utah Hockey Club.
“He’s the GOAT. He’s still flying out there. It’s so pretty darn impressive,” Wilson said. “He can just keep playing and scoring. His mentality and his physical perseverance to just keep going and do what he’s doing is … I mean, there’s really no words to describe it.”
Here’s one word to possibly describe it: unexpected.
Ovechkin finished the 2023-24 season with a whimper that had many wondering if his tank had hit empty. He didn’t register a point when the Capitals were swept by the New York Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs, going without a shot on goal in two of the games.
But Ovechkin answered that uncertainty by expediting his record chase and passing Gretzky on April 6 at the New York Islanders. In the process, he fueled a 111-point Washington season — a 20-point improvement over 2023-24 — that saw the Capitals advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2018.
“The goal chase last year energized our team. It helped us get through the dog days a bit. It was such a cool moment for the whole organization,” Capitals GM Chris Patrick said. “But I think Alex has always been team first. I think the way he’s handling this season just shows that he’s a team-first guy.”
FROM THE MOMENT Ovechkin arrived at Capitals training camp, there was speculation about this season being his last. He’s in the final year of a five-year contract extension he signed in July 2021. He broke Gretzky’s record. He hit the big 4-0. But Ovechkin was noncommittal about his future before the season.
“I don’t know if this is going to be the last. We’ll see,” he said at training camp.
Then, asked again on the eve of the Capitals’ first game: “I don’t know. I take it day by day, you know? You have to have fun. Enjoy yourself. Do the best that you can.”
Ovechkin hasn’t made up his mind. The Capitals say they don’t know which way he’s leaning. They’re happy to give him the time he needs to figure it out.
“I want him to have the space. To have this season go how he wants it to go,” Patrick said. “If he wants to talk, we’ll talk. If not, we’ll figure it out later.”
Ovechkin deferred to Patrick when asked if there was a deadline of sorts this season in which he’d have to inform the Capitals about his future. “I don’t know. You should talk to him, not me. This is the time of the year when you just have to get ready emotionally and get ready physically. We’ll see how it goes,” he said.
Undoubtedly, a preseason announcement about this being Ovechkin’s retirement tour would have put the focus on him rather than his teammates for a second straight season.
“Definitely. It would bring that element to arenas, especially in the Western Conference where it would be the last time he ever goes into those arenas,” coach Spencer Carbery said.
Ovechkin said he welcomes a season without something like the Gretzky goals record chase overshadowing everything else. “You just get tired to hear, ‘When it’s going to happen, how you’re going to do it?'” he said. “Right now, we just focusing on the different things.”
One reason Ovechkin might stick around beyond this season is the Capitals’ resurgence. When he re-signed with Washington in 2021, it was with the understanding that the team wouldn’t go into a rebuild with him on the roster. Surrounding him with talent would keep him happy and support his pursuit of Gretzky’s record.
The retool around Ovechkin has produced two straight trips to the Stanley Cup playoffs and a Metropolitan Division title last season. It has been a combination of solid prospect development and bold bets on trades and signings by management — hastened by the cap flexibility afforded the team as veterans Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie saw their NHL careers end — that were widely successful, such as the trades for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, defenseman Jakob Chychrun and goalie Logan Thompson.
Under Carbery, who was hired two seasons ago, the Capitals haven’t just avoided a rebuild in Ovechkn’s twilight years. They’re a legitimate contender.
“We’ve created a standard now where we’re a team that’s expected to do well. We’ve got to make sure when teams come into our rink, we keep that expectation that it’s going to be hard playing the Capitals,” Wilson said.
Ovechkin says he appreciates that culture, and the fact that management brought back almost everyone from last season’s team.
“Yeah, I mean you go to locker room and you see the guy who was next to you from last year,” he said. “We have some additions, but they understand the culture. They understand where they’re at. I think it’s pretty good.”
Carbery says he believes it’s that joy Ovechkin feels with his teammates and playing the game that has kept him going.
“I think he loves the game. He loves to come to the rink, he loves to be around his buddies. He loves to go out and compete and try to win. I don’t think that’ll change one bit,” the coach said. “Even though he’s passed Wayne and now has the all-time goal record, I think he’ll be as hungry as ever to get to 900 and then 910 and try to help our team win games.”
CARBERY TALKS TO OVECHKIN every day.
“I won’t be, ‘Hey, do you feel good enough to play next year?’ I have a lot of conversations with him. Part of it is about him and part of it is that he’s the captain. I want to get a sense of what we need as a group. But I also check in on how he’s feeling as well,” he said. “A lot of [his decision] will have to do with how the year goes. At his age, coming back from an injury in training camp. He wants to see how he feels, mentally and physically, going through the grind. See where he’s at.”
Ovechkin’s primary motivation on the ice is bringing a second Stanley Cup championship to Washington. But as Carbery mentioned, Ovechkin still has personal milestones to hit too.
Ovechkin entered this season trailing Gretzky by 42 for the most goals scored between the regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs combined in NHL history. Gretzky has 1,016, and Ovechkin’s combined 49 goals last season gave him 974 for his career.
Ovechkin will also have a chance to set a record for most goals scored by a 40-year-old player. Gordie Howe holds that mark with 44 in the 1968-69 season. From a personal standpoint, Ovechkin is just a handful of games away from 1,500 in his career, a benchmark only 22 players in NHL history have reached.
“He’s got a couple milestones I think coming up right away and it’ll be fun to see him hit those,” Patrick said. “I’m just at a point where every time I see him play, I’m just appreciating it, because he’s 40 years old. We’re not going to have this forever. To get to witness it every night is a treat.”
Defenseman John Carlson, who also doesn’t have a contract beyond this season, said it’s been “a hell of a ride” with Ovechkin, whether or not this is his final season.
“I’m not going to get too nostalgic too early here. But, yeah, it’s been really cool to play with one of the game’s greats, and now the leading goal scorer of all time,” Carlson said. “Those are insane things that you can reflect on. Pretty special times.”
Carlson has been Ovechkin’s teammate since 2009-10. Wilson has played with him since 2013-14. Neither player has given much thought to this being their captain’s last season in the NHL.
“Not really, to be honest. I think he’s one of those guys where it doesn’t really matter. If he’s playing well and he wants to be scoring goals and he wants to stick around, I’m sure they’ll figure a way to keep him around,” Carlson said. “If he doesn’t want to play another year, then he won’t play another year.”
Perhaps Ovechkin will take inspiration with how Gretzky retired from the NHL. He also didn’t want a retirement tour. News about 1998-99 being his final season didn’t leak until very late in the season, creating hysteria around the Rangers’ April 15, 1999, game at the Ottawa Senators as Gretzky’s last stop in Canada. He would formally announce his retirement the next day in New York. Wilson understands that, in an instant, Ovechkin could also call it a career.
“No one will really think about him not being around here until it smacks us all in the face,” Wilson said. “He’s just a Capital. He comes to the rink every day and leads this group. He’s going to do that until he is done. We won’t really focus too much on that. It’s just so fun having him around.”
And so the Capitals wait as Ovechkin ponders whether this is the season that the Russian Machine powers down.
“We respect Alex so much and everything he’s done for this organization. So when the time comes for him to make his decision on his future, he will,” Carbery said. “We don’t know what the future holds. He’s left it open. Certainly as an organization, we’re like, ‘Heck yeah, as many more years as you possibly can play.'”
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