Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter is a great hitter, and now a reliable outfielder too

Kerry Carpenter is a great hitter.

The 26-year-old combines power, contact and plate discipline from the left side of the plate. He rarely steps into the batter's box against left-handed pitchers, but he has established himself as a feared hitter against right-handers.

Carpenter propelled the Detroit Tigers to back-to-back wins Friday and Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park, slugging a home run in each game.

He is hitting .285 with eight home runs, 10 walks and 37 strikeouts across 49 games in his third MLB season. Carpenter ranks fifth among qualified outfielders with a .916 OPS, trailing only Aaron Judge (1.050), Kyle Tucker (1.026), Juan Soto (.997) and Jurickson Profar (.923).

His offense is the reason why he has been able to stick as a former 19th-round draft pick, but let's not forget about Carpenter's long-term development from a below-average defender to an average defender in right field.

Carpenter is worth plus-1 defensive runs saved for his overall work in the outfield, and he is worth plus-1 outs above average for his range in the outfield.

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"I feel like my focus and my reads on every pitch have been a lot better, especially the last year or so," Carpenter said. "I feel pretty confident going after most balls off the bat. I feel confident that I've gotten a lot better on my reads."

Manager A.J. Hinch agreed.

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He recognizes the biggest developmental strides in the way Carpenter reads balls off the bat and the way Carpenter is fearless in his decision-making.

"He throws the ball the lowest, height-wise," Hinch said, "meaning he's going to throw through the cutoff man and make a fundamentally sound throw. He puts himself in a really good position to make a good throw, and I think that starts with learning the fundamentals on what his objective is, keep the ball low and keep the ball towards the base in which he's throwing."

Bench coach George Lombard deserves credit for Carpenter's development, considering they've work together on a daily basis for the past three years, but Carpenter praised a lesser-known member of the organization.

Arnie Beyeler, who helped Shane Victorino transition from center field to right field in 2013 and Mookie Betts from second base to center field in 2014-15 with the Boston Red Sox, managed Double-A Erie in the Tigers' organization in 2021, which was Carpenter's first season with the SeaWolves.

"He was great," Carpenter said.

Beyeler, now an outfield and base-running coordinator in the minor leagues with the Tigers, set the foundation Carpenter's development on defense.

"Gotta give credit to Arnie, too," Carpenter said.

Carpenter helped the Tigers win back-to-back games because of his offense, but in the first inning of Friday's game, he received a bloop single from Bo Bichette and threw out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. trying to score from second base.

He fielded the ball in front of him and threw a one-hopper to catcher Carson Kelly. The ball came out of his hand at a blazing 90.5 mph, his fastest throw of the season.

"I've been pretty confident in my arm for years now," Carpenter said. "It's cool to see results."

Carpenter started 12 games in the outfield in April, but he has already started 13 games in the outfield in May, still with five more games until the calendar flips to June.

He wants to be an everyday outfielder.

He refuses to be confined to the designated hitter role.

"It's been my goal," Carpenter said. "At the beginning of the year, it was a little tough to DH most days and then go out there and get in a rhythm, but now, I'm out there most days, so I'm in a good rhythm out there. The more I play out there, the better I get out there, and the more I play, the more confident I get out there."

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In Carpenter's past 15 games, he is hitting .340 with five doubles, two triples and five home runs. Overall, Carpenter leads the Tigers with 29 RBIs, a .576 slugging percentage and a .916 OPS.

As for the smooth finish to his on-field tools? Carpenter, previously a below-average defender, isn't considered a liability in right field anymore.

"By his play, he's really forced me to keep him in the outfield," said Hinch, who writes Mark Canha in the lineup as the designated hitter more often than Carpenter. "I trust his actions in the outfield more now than ever."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Detroit Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter has developed as a defender