Shane Carle

 

SHANE CARLE, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
Born: July 28, 1990
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 185
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Drafted: 10th Round, 299th Overall, 2013
How Acquired: Draft
College: Long Beach State
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PLAYER PROFILE

The Pirates originally drafted Carle as a sinkerball pitcher who relied on inducing groundballs.  His sinker sat in the upper-80s, reaching 94, and he threw from a 3/4 arm slot.  Carle’s secondary pitches, a slider and change, were considered fringy.  He started his college baseball in JC ball, playing two years at Cabrillo College before transferring to Long Beach for the 2013 season.  Baseball America ranked him the #340 draft prospect.  After two years with the Pirates, Carle was traded to Colorado.  He pitched well for the Rockies in AA, but has struggled over two years — one as a starter and one as a reliever — in AAA.  In the upper minors, he hasn’t been a groundball pitcher.  His fastball as a reliever sits at 93-94 mph and he still throws the standard four pitches.

2013
A-:  1-0-1, 2.15 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 50.1 IP, 1.1 BB/9, 7.7 K/9

Carle had a good debut, walking very few hitters, maintaining a high groundball rate, and posting a decent K rate.  He had almost no platoon split.  Carle started four games and pitched ten times in relief, although the relief outings were mostly of the 3-4 inning variety.  He went on the disabled list with a right forearm strain near the end of the season.  His unavailability contributed to bullpen problems late in the season that nearly cost Jamestown a playoff berth.

2014
A:  2-5-0, 3.72 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 82.1 IP, 1.0 BB/9, 5.1 K/9
A+:  2-3-0, 3.60 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 55.0 IP, 2.1 BB/9, 5.9 K/9

Carle opened the season in the rotation at West Virginia.  He pitched just decently, walking almost nobody but not missing many bats and allowing an opponents’ average of .293.  The Pirates moved him up to Bradenton in mid-July and he pitched marginally better, possibly due to the more favorable pitchers environment in the Florida State League.  For some reason, after continuing his groundball tendency in low A, he had more air outs than ground outs in high A.  He had no platoon split on the season.  After the season, the Pirates traded Carle to Colorado for Rob Scahill.

2015
AA:  14-7-0, 3.48 ERA, 1.24 WHIP,  160.1 IP, 1.7 BB/9, 5.6 K/9
AAA:  0-1-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 6.0 IP, 1.5 BB/9, 4.5 K/9

The Rockies put Carle in the rotation in AA and he got good results, albeit with a very low K rate.  He gave up very few walks and had a decent HR rate, allowing 12.  He had no platoon split.

2016
AAA:  5-8-0, 5.42 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 111.1 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 7.1 K/9

In AAA, Carle got hit hard, although the hitting environment at Albuquerque in the Pacific Coast League probably didn’t help.  Opponents had a robust 324/370/485 line against him and the Rockies moved him to the bullpen for his last eight games.  Colorado nevertheless added Carle to their 40-man roster after the season.

2017
AAA:  3-5-1, 5.37 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 62.0 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 7.3 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

The Rockies sent Carle back to AAA, where he pitched in relief apart from three starts.  He also got a one-game callup in April and appeared in two games with the Rockies in September.  He pitched largely as he had the year before.  When Colorado signed Wade Davis during the off-season, they designated Carle for assignment and the Pirates claimed him off waivers.

Carle hasn’t been impressive in AAA, even taking the environment at Albuquerque into account, and the move to the bullpen didn’t make things any better.  The Pirates evidently will try to turn him around at Indianapolis.  Whether he serves as a starter or reliever may depend on the other pitchers on the team.  He has two options left.

UPDATE:  The Pirates designated Carle for assignment to clear roster space after the Gerrit Cole trade.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2018: Minor league contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: $100,000
MiLB Debut: 2013
MLB Debut: 4/14/2017
MiLB FA Eligible: N/A
MLB FA Eligible: 2023
Rule 5 Eligible: N/A
Added to 40-Man: 11/18/2016 (since removed)
Options Remaining: 2 (USED:  2017)
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 7, 2013: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 10th round, 299th overall pick; signed on June 14.
November 11, 2014: Traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Colorado Rockies for Rob Scahill.
November 18, 2016: Contract purchased by the Colorado Rockies.
December 29, 2017: Designated for assignment by the Colorado Rockies.
January 4, 2018: Claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
January 14, 2018: Designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates.