00:00Hey Tigers fans, welcome back. Let's talk about one of the most fascinating hitters on this team,
00:06Kerry Carpenter. We all know about his explosive swing and the raw power that makes him a threat
00:11every time he steps up to the plate, but have you ever thought about what's going on inside his head
00:15during those at-bats? He explained it to us recently, and it's not just about reacting,
00:20it's about anticipation. Kerry told reporters that the more he sees a pitcher, the better his
00:25swing decisions become, he focuses on the exact point where the ball leaves the pitcher's hand
00:32to determine if it's a strike or not. He admitted that against lefties, it can sometimes feel like
00:37a guess, but from the right side, he says he can picture the release angle, the height, the movement,
00:43everything, before he even gets in the box. Now we all remember where that preparation and
00:48confidence really shined. Think back to game 5 of the ALDS against the Mariners last October.
00:54When Kerry came to the plate against lefty Justin Spire, it wasn't their first meeting,
00:59he had already seen Spire 3 times in that series, plus he had faced 3 left-handed relievers from the
01:05Guardians in the wildcard series. Just before that, he felt good, and he knew he could put
01:10together a quality at-bat. And then, he launched that home run, it was the only lead in the only
01:15runs the Tigers got that game, putting us just 9 outs away from the ALCS. Even with how that game
01:23ended, that swing is one of the most dramatic home runs in our postseason history. Four months
01:28later, we're still talking about it, and it brings us right back to the annual spring debate.
01:33Is this finally the year Kerry Carpenter gets more consistent at-bats against left-handed pitchers?
01:39Even Kerry feels like he's living in Groundhog Day with this question. He's confident he's shown he
01:45can do it. He understands why the team sometimes pinch hits for him. He pointed out how amazing
01:49Jamai Jones was last year, he gets it. But he also knows this topic comes up every single spring.
01:55Let's look at the regular season numbers. For his career, he's hitting .207 against lefties.
02:02Last season, he went 13 for 60 which is a 217 average, with 14 strikeouts. But three of those
02:0913 hits were home runs, including two in early April, and a big one off Tim Hill at Yankee Stadium
02:15on September 10. That home run off Spire in the playoffs though, it really changed the conversation,
02:21didn't it? It makes you wonder if the narrative has shifted. What hasn't changed, and this is key,
02:26is the strength of the right-handed bats we have on the bench. Manager A.J. Hinch has talked about
02:30this a lot. He says it's always about the strength of the guy coming off the bench.
02:35Last year, we had Jach Mai, Andy Ibanez, Matt Veerling, Justin Henry Malloy. Guys they trusted
02:44in those spots. Hinch thinks about everything. The game situation, what they need in that moment,
02:51a single, a homer, a walk, and puts the dilemma in the other manager's hands. Sure, Ibanez and Malloy
02:57are gone now, but Jones is back, and so is a healthy Matt Veerling. They brought in Austin Slater
03:02as a non-roster invitee for some veteran depth, and we have two exciting, right-handed hitting
03:08prospects who absolutely crushed lefties in AAA Toledo last year. Hao Yu Lee, who's our number
03:14six prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and Max Anderson, our number nine prospect. So, what does
03:20this mean for Kerry? It creates a wrinkle of unpredictability for Hinch. He might leave Kerry
03:25in against a lefty reliever early in the game to set up a big opportunity later, and something else
03:30that helps Kerry's case is his improved comfort in the outfield. Even if the regular season stats
03:36didn't fully show it, Hinch mentioned that Kerry really wants more time on the field. At the end
03:41of last season, when Colt Keith was hurt and became the DH in the playoffs, that pushed Kerry
03:47to right field. He took ownership of that and came into camp in a really good spot. Kerry is getting
03:53work
03:53in both outfield corners to be ready, and he's hoping to get some looks against lefties this spring
03:59to prepare. He said he'll be asking for those at-bats for sure, even if it's just a spring
04:04training game he wants to see lefties. To get those reps, he feels like he can earn more opportunity.
04:10So, Tigers fans, here's the big question. After that postseason performance and with his clear
04:15desire to improve, do you think Kerry Carpenter has finally done enough to earn the full-time trust
04:21against lefties, or do you stick with the matchup-based approach, given the depth we have
04:25on the bench? Let me know what you think.
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