42. Robert Carson – SP –
Carson had a disappointing senior season at Hattiesburg, finishing 3-5 with only 36 Ks. The bright spot was his 2.65 ERA. As a junior, he went 5-2 with 2 saves and a 2.15 ERA with 60 Ks.
The Mets drafted Carson in the 14th round of the 2007 draft. He signed and was placed on The GCL Mets roster, where he went 1-0, 5.00 in 4 games, 1 start.
Scouts say he has a “big time arm” and throws a “heavy” fastball. Carson features 4 pitches, a fastball, changeup, cutter and curveball. His fastball sits 90-92, and has topped out at 94. His changeup sits around 75-80, while his curveball is low to mid 70s.
In 2008, Carson started out with the GCL Mets and pitched impressively: 1-0, 1.57, 0.74. He was promoted to Kingsport, where he went 2-3, 1.76 in 6 starts.
In 2009, Carson pitched a full season for Savannah and went: 8-10, 3.21, 1.40, but only 90-K in 131.2-IP. He also walked 45 batters.
Carson’s 3 year pro stats are: 12-13, 2.87, 1.34.
1-1-10 Forecast: - Carson would have been ranked higher if he finished the season strong, but he didn’t. The Mets should have bumped him to St. Lucie at least two months prior to the end of the season, but they didn’t, and that could have been hanging over Carson. There’s a hell of a lot of talent here along with his confidence and bravado. I look for a tremendous season at St. Lucie in 2010.
5-22-10: Carson has put together three decent starts coming into Friday night, after starting the season all over the place. He did give up 12 hits Friday night, but his overall stats were impressive: 7.1-IP, 2-ER, 3-K. His ERA is now down to 4.95 from a year high of 81.00 on April 15.
5-22-10: - SP Robert Carson: Carson also got off to a bad start, especially his second outing of the year (0.2-IP, 6-ER, 81.00). The good news is, in his last three outings, Carson has stats of: 16.1-IP, 5-ER, 12-Ks. His last outing on May 17 was especially hot, striking out nine in 5.0-IP. Carson is 21-years old and, like Familia, projects out as a possible 2013 starter for the Mets
6-17-10: - A+ SP Robert Carson had another great outing, throwing 6..0 scoreless innings, giving up only two hits and striking out seven. His ERA is now below five, and he's given up only 2-ER in his last three starts (19.0-IP). This is real good news folks and there actually is a chance you may see him move on to Binghamton at some point this season.
6-30-10: - Carson did everything he could to throw a shutout Monday night… his first seven innings were close to perfect, but he eventually tired in the 8th inning, giving up four runs (7.2-IP, 4-ER, 9-H, 4-K, 1-BB). He did get the victory (6-4), and his ERA ended up at 4.54. There’s been a bunch of negativity in the scouting world involving Carson… many question whether he has that “something special”needed to make it someday in the Bigs. No one has every questioned his confidence (his Facebook name is Robert “Imdestinedforgreatness” Carson.) Let’s hope this is another sign that his game is returning.
7-4-10: - Carson continued Sunday night putting his season back together... 7.0-IP, 2-ER, 7-K, 1-BB... ERA down to 4.37. That translates to a 3.41 ERA over the last 10 starts, which, if that was his seasonal stats, he would already be on is way to Binghamton.
9-1-10 – Stock Down – Look, no matter how we break this down, Robert Carson has not progessed enough this past season to be currently considered a top pitching prospect. He was absolutely lit up last night, going 5.0-IP, 9-H, 7-ER, 5-K, 2-BB, 1-WP. His Binghamton ERA is now 8.74, and, if you add that to his 4.17 in Lucy, the year looks like: 8-11, 5.74., with only 97-K in 131.2-IP, plus 55-BB. This hasts not been a great year for three of the Mets top so-called pitching prospects (Carson, Jeurys Familia, Brad Holt) and the season seesm to be coming to an end at the right time for Robert.
In 2010, Carson had various levels of struggles. His St. Lucie stint (7-5, 4.17, 69-K, 86.1-IP) was so-so at best and most people thought he got his promotion to Binghamton because he was the lesser of five evils. At Binghamton, he really pitched badly and ended the season 1-6, 8.32, and injured.
2011 Forecast: - The Mets have already annoucned that Carson will pitch winter ball in Arizona. You and I should be so lucky after a year like this. Carson earns this for one reason; his fastball can sit in the 93-95 range. For this reason alone, the Mets will continue to try and get this "very confident" young man to develop the control and accuracy needed to at least excell in the pen. Carson will repeat the Binghamton rotation if everything goes well in the winter.
3-26-11: - Down – SP – Robert Carson – you just don’t hear this guy’s name anymore when they write about Mets’ prospects. Carson showed so much promise when he was in Savannah and he looked so intimidating on the mound. The problem was his velo never matched his intensity. He turned 22 this past January and is 20-24, 4.02, 1.47 over the four seasons he has pitched in the organization. I expect him to repeat Binghamton after going 8.32 there in 10 starts.
4-10-11: - Stock UP: - SP Robert Carson - Impressive first outing from RHP Robert Carson - 5.0-IP, 0-ER, 5-H, 4-K, 0-BB. Prospect wise, Carson has been further along than Jeurys Familia, but with less stuff. The secret to his game is control. Batters will tell you that they believe he pitches much faster than the gun says. It’s all due to his dominating delivery. This is another welcomed first outing from a Mets starter.
5-4-11: - Robert Carson was the starting pitcher tonight. Carson has hovered just below the prospect line since he was drafted by the Mets in the 14th round of the 2007 draft. He is a very intimidating pitcher whose fastball seems to travel faster than the 88-91 range he sits in. He also works very fast which makes him more intimidating. He’s had two problems as a pro. First, he has a difficult time getting batters out with runners on base (mechanics) and, secondly, he’s had trouble with left-handed batters (though, so far this year he is 0.00 against lefties). This is his fifth outing this season. He gave up 1 run in each of his first two games… two in his third outing… eight last time out. Carson didn’t disappoint. He went 6.0, giving up two runs and striking out four.
5-9-11: - SP Robert Carson continues to go south. I reported earlier this week that “people” had told me that his early success this year did not properly represent his game. Carson has continued to stay a “free spirit” and not allow those around him to help control his natural talent. Tonight: 4.1-IP, 6-H, 5-ER, 2-K, 5-BB, 4.60 for the year. His Facebook page name was Robert “I’mDestinedForGreatness” Carson, but I’m not sure it’s still that since we don’t follow each other. Gonna have to move him down the list now.
5-24-11: - Mets Minor League Pitching Coordinator Rick Tomlin to Matt Eddy/BA on Carson: - “We wanted to get him using both sides of the plate,” Tomlin said. “In the past he was a little more one-side-of-the-plate dominant (to his glove side). We like to see our pitchers use both sides of the plate, and now he believes he can do that. Now the emphasis will be on the changeup and not being afraid to use it.
5-26-11: - Look, the fact is that Robert Carson is just not progressing as a potential major league starting pitcher. He’s been stalled at the same excellence level for two years and the 6-3 LHP isn’t even that dominant against lefties (2.79). Carson has never been one of those dominant strikeout pitchers so he doesn’t project well as an 8th inning guy or closer. I’m sure he’ll finish this season as a starter, but the Mets would be smart to start making the conversion to the pen in 2012 in hopes of salvaging the time spent here.
6-5-11: - I don’t know if this is a growing story, but I’m throwing it out anyway. First, I printed the press release that I receive from the B-Mets every day on the upcoming game. It also includes the probably pitchers for the next four games, something I usually don’t reprint because it does tend to change. The strange thing this time is all four upcoming games have “TBA” under the Mets probably pitcher. Very strange, but then, I noticed that Collin McHugh was starting on Sunday in place of Robert Carson’s slot. Lastly, Carson tweeted and confirmed that he wasn’t starting. Frankly, all this TBA stuff is a week too early. Both St. Lucie and Savannah got big time pennant races going on I their first half of the season, so I don’t expect any big time transfers to come out until this time next week. More as I find it out.
7-5-11: - http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/aa-weekend-harvey-valdespin-keeps-on-hitting - Sunday, Robert Carson had the kind of start I’ve come to expect: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 5 gb/7 flyouts… Lots of runners. Not missing many bats. Just eh.
7-6-11: - http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/mid-season-top-41-review-part-three-26-30 - Fewer hard-hit balls are becoming hits, and his strikeout rate in AA has climbed back to his St. Lucie level. He’s been better in AA in 2011 than 2011. However, but I’m not sure that this degree of better will be enough to remain a starter, or at least one with much value in the big leagues.
7-14-11: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/7/11/2270752/mets-minors-road-report-binghamton-7-9-brooklyn-7-10 - Not a great performance from the lefthander, but I don’t know that it is a stuff issue. Fastball was popping in at 91-92 and the slider looked decent. Control issues and some defensive butchery made things worse. He is only 22, which I always forget, since it seems like he has been around forever. I still think he could be a useful piece out of the pen if he figures out how to get the groundballs back. Everybody else in the org is adding a cutter, so maybe he should try it.
7-26-11: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/7/26/2287253/mets-mid-term-farm-system-review-2011-binghamton#storyjump - LHP Robert Carson - STOCK DOWN - Look, he's definitely been better in Double-A in 2011 than in 2010. His K/9, BB/9 and HR/9 are all better. He's improved, just not as much as you'd like from a top pitching prospect. At 22, he's no longer that young and the Eastern League is having no poblem hitting him as he's allowed a .292 average against thus far. Even worse, one of the hallmarks of his game, an excellent GB%, has deteriorated since the promotion to Bingo. It's never wise to \ disregard a 20-something, 6'3" lefty that can consistently hit 93mph but I must say that I expect a better results from someone with that profile. He still shows reasons to hope -- see, last night's performance -- but I continue to envision Carson's realistic major league ceiling as a late-inning lefty a la Antonio Bastardo.
8-6-11: - Stock Down – Frankly, there hasn’t been that much good to write about Carson this season. He gave up another five runs in four innings, which raised his seasonal ERA to 4.88. This was his 20th start after 27 starts last year in A+/AA that produced a 5.67 combined ERA. I don’t see anyone being promoted from St. Lucie soon, so I expect Robert to finish the season as a starter, but it seems a safe bet that he’s heading to the pen in 2012.
8-14-11: - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/32042/projected-prospect-call-ups - ROBERT CARSON, lhp (3-11, 4.85 in 21 starts with Binghamton): The most unexpected choice assuming he is in fact promoted, Carson likely would help as a southpaw in the bullpen. He threw 94-95 mph during his last outing with the B-Mets, but tended to be up in the strike zone, where more discerning major league hitters could give him problems. Left-handers are hitting .295 and right-handers .304 against Carson this season. Carson is a 14-round pick in 2007 out of high school in Hattiesburg, Miss.
10-26-11: - http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/10/26/colemans-corner-mets-position-players-shining-in-arizona-sun - Then there’s left-hander Robert Carson. Or as he refers to himself on his Facebook page – Robert “I’mdestinedforgreatness” Carson. Whoa, big fella, dial that one back just a little bit. At Double AA Binghamton this season, Carson went 4-11 with a 5.05 ERA in 24 starts and one relief appearance.
He gave up a whopping 154 hits in 128 innings, striking out 91 but walking 55. Not pretty. In Arizona, he’s still giving up too many hits – 10 in 9 1/3 innings – but the numbers are better – a 2.89 ERA in 5 relief appearances.
10-26-11: - http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/mike-newman-prospects-chat-102511 - Comment From Robert Carson - Is my fastball and slider enough to be a MLB middle reliever? Mike Newman: Fastball has enough giddy-up, but the slider still falls short. I guess I can mention this now since it was a couple of years ago, but near the trade deadline, I was specifically asked if he could be a guy who sat at 94 out of the pen as an adrenaline reliever. I thought he could at the time and still think he'll get a big league shot at some point.
11-1-11: - http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=228&f=1381&t=8181112 - Interesting, pretty positive scouting report on Robert Carson; sits at 92-95 and touches 96 fairly often, with good hop on the ball. Overall upshot is pretty much what IPA has been saying for some time now, that scouts like him better than his numbers would suggest, and he can become an above-average major league starter IF he can learn to command his pitches better, which mainly will come from learning to repeat his proper arm slot.
11-13-11: - http://www.metsblog.com/2011/11/13/afl-round-up-juan-lagares-has-been-stellar-this-fall - •RHP Robert Carson has also struggled so far for Peoria, pitching to a 4.41 ERA in nine relief appearances. Carson, who will be 23 in January, went 4-11 with a 5.05 ERA for Double-A Binghamton this past season.
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