Carson Fulmer watched his once-promising career go from being a first-round pick fast-tracked to the majors to a reclamation project who flatlined, so he can’t help but be excited about a new opportunity.
The right-handed reliever is looking forward to a fresh start with the Pittsburgh Pirates, in hopes he can recapture the success that made him one of baseball’s most coveted pitching prospects only five years ago.
The Pirates recalled Fulmer on Saturday, six days after claiming him on waivers from the Detroit Tigers, and will use him out of the bullpen. Whatever the role, Fulmer plans to prove himself all over again.
“I think that, first off, I have to not lie to myself,” Fulmer said. “I think I have to be very upfront and straightforward. I haven’t been the pitcher that I was touted to be, or the pitcher I wanted to be.”
The 6-foot, 215-pounder starred at Vanderbilt, where he was SEC pitcher of the year as a sophomore for the NCAA champions and then spent the summer for the U.S. national team. Fulmer was the national pitcher of the year as junior, when he was 14-2 with a 1.83 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 127 2/3 innings, and a Golden Spikes finalist.
“(Fulmer) came out of Vandy’s pitching program, which is very advanced and understands body movement, pitch usage,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We’re trying to rekindle a little bit of what people saw why he was a No. 1 pick.”
Fulmer was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox but never replicated the success of his college career. He was 6-9 with a 6.56 ERA in 51 games over four seasons, including 15 starts, before being waived in July. The Detroit Tigers claimed him, and he had a 6.75 ERA in seven games.
Not only did the White Sox not commit to Fulmer in their quest to stay in contention but they tinkered with his mechanics from the outset. That has forced Fulmer on a quest to recapture what made him such a dominant pitcher in college and translate it to the majors.
“I made it up quick. I had a lot of success, in terms of that,” Fulmer said. “I went through a couple of delivery changes that switched things up a little bit for me. I’ve started, I’ve relieved, I’ve closed. I have done pretty much every role, and I’ve had succes, at times, in every one of those roles.”
Fulmer preferred to pitch from a preset foot but switched to a full wind-up. Scouts wondered whether he could repeat his mechanics and if he had the stuff to be a starter. When his velocity didn’t increase after Fulmer moved to the bullpen, it affected his performance. With Fulmer out of options, the White Sox waived him.
“I felt like my mechanics were based off of me being extremely connected,” Fulmer said. “I think that’s where I got a lot of my strength from. I felt a little disconnected. My velocity dropped a little bit. My command just wasn’t where I wanted it to be. Going through a delivery change and really buying into the system, I worked extremely hard every day to master that and I got away from what got me here in the first place.
“So, I need to keep things simple.”
What Fulmer hasn’t lost is confidence. He still believes he’s destined to have a long major league career and is looking forward to his chance with the Pirates. He’s spent time watching video and hopes to connect with pitching coach Oscar Marin, who shares what Fulmer called a “driveline mentality” with data-driven baseball training.
“I’m very confident and believe in my ability to go out there, take the ball and give us the best chance to win when I take the mound,” Fulmer said. “But, you know, this game is nothing but full of adjustments. I think confronting those adjustments and those things that have happened in the past up front, addressing them and really just buying into the philosophy that works best for me.
“I’m never gonna stop. I’m always going to stay confident, regardless of the results. I’m gonna be there. I’m gonna be in the place I always dreamt of myself being. It’s going to take time. I can’t rush it, that’s for sure. This is going to be a process, and again, I’m really fortunate to be here and with a team that believes in me, and is really going to give me time to have success at this level.”
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports
August 30, 2020 at 05:35AM
https://triblive.com/sports/former-first-round-pick-carson-fulmer-looks-forward-to-fresh-start-in-pirates-bullpen/
Former first-round pick Carson Fulmer looks forward to fresh start in Pirates' bullpen - TribLIVE
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