Anatomy of a Draft Pick

I come not to bury White Sox right-hander Carson Fulmer, but to understand why this 24-year old former first-round draft choice finds himself back in the minors.  Last night’s performance—five walks, two hit-batters and three base hits all leading to eight earned runs in two-plus innings—was just more of the same.  It marked the third time this season the Vanderbilt product couldn’t get out of the second inning.  That happens, and Fulmer’s 8.07 ERA is easy to understand.  So is the demotion to Charlotte.

I’m going to go out on a limb here to say part of the problem is maturity.  TV cameras showed Fulmer in the dugout after he was lifted, his glasses on backwards over his cap.  Nope, sorry.  That little gesture speaks loads as to where Fulmer’s head, let alone his glasses, should be.  The White Sox website ran an update this week on another #1 draft choice, righty reliever Zach Burdi, who underwent Tommy John surgery last July.  Burdi has been rehabbing in Arizona since January and may even pitch again this year.  I don’t get that same sense of dedication from Fulmer. 

In choosing him, the Sox passed up on the likes of the Cubs’ Ian Happ.  So, obviously, there was something in Fulmer they saw and liked.  But what, exactly?  In his first full season in the minors, he went 6-10 with a 4.63 ERA while splitting time between AA and AAA.  Last year, he posted a 7-9 mark and 5.79 ERA for Triple-A Charlotte.  That makes his 3-1 record with the Sox at the last season all the more confusing.  Who’s the real Carson Fulmer?

And all those stats lead to another question—what have Fulmer’s coaches done for him?  In the minors, apparently next to nothing.  As for Don Cooper, if he wants to take credit for the 3-1, then he has to own up to this year’s 2-4.  If Cooper is a genius who’s dispensing the secrets to having a Hall-of-Fame career and Fulmer’s not listening, somebody did a bad job of scouting.  Young athletes aren’t exactly adept at hiding their true selves.

Then again, if Cooper is more skilled at hanging onto his job than he is actually coaching, it doesn’t say a whole heck of a lot for the chances of the rebuild, now does it?