GLENDALE, Ariz. – Being out of minor league options might help right-hander Carson Fulmer’s chances of making the White Sox’ Opening Day roster.
Pitching better certainly will.
Fulmer has been pitching like a man pitching for his major league life, which hasn’t gone as planned after he was selected by the Sox with the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft.
He believes he belongs.
“I have unbelievable ability,” Fulmer said. “I just have to trust it.”
Following the lead of teammates taking measures to get their minds right to perform, Fulmer said he worked with “a specialist” in the offseason. And he came to spring training in the right frame of mind.
“I worked on the mental side this offseason — that was actually the biggest focus,” he said. “My focus is very simple. Throw it in the zone. And I’m pounding the strike zone. I’m attacking hitters, I’m wanting guys to put the ball in play. And I’m inducing a lot of weak contact, getting a lot of fly balls and I’m striking out a lot of guys. But more importantly, I’m just filling up the zone and keeping my approach really simple.”
Fulmer’s latest outing in spring training was replacing Reynaldo Lopez (4 1⁄3 scoreless innings) finishing up the fifth inning against the Padres by striking out Abraham Almonte and Tommy Pham, both swinging. In six relief appearances covering eight innings this spring, Fulmer owns a 2.25 ERA with eight strikeouts and three walks.
Cactus League stats are of the small sample variety, and while the strikeout pitch has been working, Fulmer said he has come to the realization that it’s OK to let hitters get themselves out. Pitching to contact, he now believes, can work for him, even if it goes against every fiber in his constitution.
“I’m a perfectionist, and I’ve always want to make the perfect pitch,” he said. “In most circumstances, it’s pretty hard to do. Only a certain amount of guys can do that. So my focus now is just being able to just execute good pitch. If my stuff’s in the zone, I have success. So trust in my ability, and be confident, which I am.”
There is at least one spot to be won in the Sox bullpen, and owning a 6.56 ERA in 44 major league games and a 5.01 ERA in 104 minor league games, 78 of those at Class AAA Charlotte, doesn’t bode well for Fulmer. He has bounced around between Charlotte and the Sox for four seasons now. In 2018, he was given a spot in the starting rotation out of spring training but finished the year in Charlotte after posting an 8.07 ERA in nine games including eight starts. Last season, he was recalled from Charlotte four times but struggled, pitching to a 6.26 ERA in 20 games including two starts.
Fulmer said working on the mental side was “was tough,” he said.
“That’s for sure. I had to get through some stuff.”
But it was something he needed to do.
“I was able to come up with a routine and a plan,” he said. “And we worked on keys where every time I go on the mound I can feel comfortable. So it’s a huge step in the right direction. I think that it’s going to be a career changing.”
The success in Arizona has been all well and good. He knows sustaining it presents another challenge.
The Sox have a spot open in a bullpen open that will likely include Alex Colome, Aaron Bummer, Steve Cishek, Evan Marshall, Kelvin Herrera, Jimmy Cordero and Jace Fry.
”I’m going after it,” Fulmer said. “I’ve pitched pretty well to kind of fit in that position, but I still have to do the job.”
“You never know,” manager Rick Renteria said. “We’re still sitting down and having conversations about all the guys that we have but he’s certainly done well.”
