Breaking through in Major League Baseball is extremely difficult, even when you’re among the most coveted players in your draft class.
Former Vanderbilt sensation Carson Fulmer was the eighth overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft. He was college teammates with multi-time MLB All-Stars Dansby Swanson and Walker Buehler, who also went in that year’s first round. Unfortunately for him, Fulmer’s path through professional baseball has been a lot less glamorous.
It was the White Sox who drafted Fulmer, but the 31-year-old righty has since moved on to play for four other teams across parts of nine big-league seasons. He found a modicum of success with the Los Angeles Angels over the last three years, but there have still been obstacles in his path.
Having finished the season on the 60-day injured list with a right elbow strain, Fulmer was outrighted off the 40-man roster on Wednesday. And according to the official transaction log on his roster page, he elected free agency on Wednesday as well, making him eligible to sign with any club immediately.
Fulmer had a strong year last year in Los Angeles, pitching a career-high 86 2/3 innings, mostly out of the bullpen, with a 4.15 ERA. But after signing a minor-league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he found himself released in June, which led to him re-signing with the Angels for the rest of the season.
This stint was a much rougher one for Fulmer, who totaled 29 1/3 innings across 13 outings, to the tune of a 5.83 ERA. His peripheral stats like WHIP and FIP were virtually identical to last year’s, but sometimes, bad luck gets in the way.
The former Commodore has also pitched for the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, and Baltimore Orioles at the major league level. He sports a 5.44 career ERA and a 7-15 record in 127 appearances.
Though he once got a $3.5 million signing bonus, Fulmer seems resigned to chasing minor-league contracts for now, hoping that the next opportunity is a long-awaited breakthrough.
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