Get to Know Minnesota Twins 2024 Draft Pick: Michael Carpenter

[Ted Schwerzler]

After the Minnesota Twins kicked off their 2024 Major League Baseball Draft with a few position players, they turned the focus to pitching prospects. Michael Carpenter was the 11th round selection, and being from Wisconsin, he was nearly a local selection.

Of course Wisconsin is more than likely home to Brewers country, but Michael Carpenter is plenty familiar with the Minnesota Twins as well. Recently named the NJCAA Division II pitcher of the year, it was clear that he would draw draft interest. Slated to play for East Carolina next season, the Twins needed to (and did) do enough to sway him from his collegiate commitments.

Posting a 1.03 ERA and 10.1 K/BB last season, Carpenter was nothing short of dominant. He also appeared in Northwoods League action, and received further exposure to what the next level might look like. Headed out to professional action in short order, I was able to catch up to him prior to his career kicking off.

Twins Daily: You had an incredible season picking up NJCAA Pitcher of the Year honors. What went into such a dominant season and where do you feel like that success came from?

Michael Carpenter: That success came from hard work in the off-season with preparation every start. Being prepared before every start took the stress away from me being ready. I would say going into every start I just knew everything was gonna be the same as a start before, and I kept my mindset that way. It kept driving me to pitch better every single outing. Also, from offseason work I developed way better command with my fastball from the year before. This helped me have lower amount of walks and more strikeouts this year, which led to getting all those honors.

TD: Last summer you spent time in the Northwoods League and were dominant there as well. What was that experience like against wood bats and how does it help you in pro ball?

MC: The season I had with Lakeshore really helped me improve in the fact of facing better hitters that were at division one schools. It also helped me learn the importance of preparation before every start. I learned a lot from the guys on the team about what they do before and after games. I wasn’t told about any of that at my junior college during my freshman year. It really helped me move forward my sophomore year at Madison to help me develop and be more prepared every outing. I would say pitching against wood bats was a cool experience and different than the college spring season.

TD: A 45-inning scoreless streak is ridiculous. What do you do mentally each time you go out to lock in and make sure you aren't thinking about that while still competing?

MC: For a while during the season, I was not paying attention to my stats. That isn’t that unusual for me. I don’t really like looking at my stats until after the season. This really helped me just focus on competing and pitching well every single game.  Mentally it was easy, and made me just have a lot of confidence going into every start.

TD: What does your repertoire look like? You clearly have strikeout stuff. What is your favorite pitch, or what you go to when you absolutely need a strike?

MC: My repertoire is four-seam, two-seam, knuckle curve, and change up. My pitch when I need a strike is my four-seam fastball, which I can throw about anywhere in the zone for a strike. My favorite pitch would be my knuckle curve, just because I’ve been throwing it for the longest and it has always been my strikeout pitch.

TD: As a Wisconsin native, and playing so close to Twins Territory, what do you know about the organization? I assume you were a Brewers fan growing up?

MC: I don't know too much about the organization, and I’ve never really watched too many Twins games. I was always a big Brewers fan but now I get to learn more about a great organization with the Twins.

TD: Obviously the game is always changing. It sounds like the electronic strike zone could be more highly implemented in pro ball. Do you feel like that benefits you?

MC: I feel like the electronic strike zone would definitely help me to be more consistent and knowing exactly what the zone looks like every outing. At the same time, I like when I have the umpires back there just for the sake of the game and the history behind it.

TD: What do you do away from the game for fun to reset? What are your hobbies?

MC: My hobbies off the field would be playing golf, fantasy football, shooting hoops, hanging out with family and friends, card games, and watching sports.

Welcome to Twins Territory, Michael! 

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[DocBauer]

Before the draft, I had mentioned I thought the Twins might go after a pair of HS arms since there were so many good ones all through the first couple of rounds. It seemed like a good opportunity to lean in to that portion of the draft and get a couple long term prospect arms that had high potential. I was a little surprised...maybe a little disappointed...when they only took Dasan Hill in the 2nd round.

But when  they snagged Carpenter, they basically grabbed another HS type of projectable arm. He doesn't turn 20yo for 2 days, (August 28th), so he's almost the same age as someone who went to a prep school. Very intriguing to have a pair of young lefties coming in to the system.

[Dman]

Sounds like a smart kid who made quick changes that made him an elite pitcher at the JC level. I really like the Carpenter pick and am excited to see what he can do in pro ball. 

He'll be in good hands with the Twins who will be careful with his development.  Hopefully he can add a few more tick to the fastball and given the article he appears confident he can throw all his stuff for strikes.  He just needs to keep them off barrels and he could be a fast mover.

 

[Walser]

Imagine a future Twins rotation with two dominant lefties from Wisconsin, Prielipp and Carpenter.

[nclahammer]

11 hours ago, Walser said:

Imagine a future Twins rotation with two dominant lefties from Wisconsin, Prielipp and Carpenter.

We are on our baseball road trip in Davenport, Iowa, and I can't wait to see Prielipp start for the Kernels tonight.

[roger]

Although it was a long time ago that I made the move from Madison to the Twin Cities, will always be a Badger at heart.  I knew almost nothing about any of the young men in this year's draft.  But when I saw they had taken Carpenter in the eleventh round out of Madison Tech, I was excited.  And after reading a bit about his performance there, change that to elated!  

Will second Doc's comment above about being most interested in the two young pitchers, Hill and Carpenter.  Will also agree with the above comment about how exciting it would be to have Carpenter and Prielipp both in the starting rotation three or four years from now.

I see that everyone has signed except the #1 guy and two younger pitchers taken late on Day 3.  Were both of those younger guys that would require more than $150k to sign?  Expect they are waiting to see if the #1 pick signs for under slot.  They would then have some money to sign either/both of the remaining pitchers for an over slot bonus.  Does anyone know if that is what's happening?