Billy Carlson’s first real stretch back from injury looked a lot like the White Sox have come to expect from their No. 4 prospect: on base, in the gaps and playing with a little more freedom.
After missing seven weeks with a torn ligament in his left thumb, Carlson returned to Single-A Kannapolis and wasted no time making an impact. Over his first three games back, the 19-year-old reached base safely 10 times, then finished Sunday’s 10-2 win over Myrtle Beach at Atrium Health Ballpark with a triple, a double and two walks.
“It’s good to be back,” Carlson said. “It was a long time. It felt like forever.
“I just realized how much I missed it and loved the game. You don’t realize how much you miss it until it’s gone. Realizing that was huge for me, and now I’m just going out there, giving it my all.”
Carlson, MLB’s No. 57 prospect, had never dealt with a baseball injury before, not in Little League and not on his loaded Corona (Calif.) High School team.
That made the setback hit differently when it happened against the same Pelicans (Cubs) on May 23. As Carlson was coming home on a wild pitch, a pitcher accidentally stepped on his hand.
He stayed in the game for three more innings before leaving, and the White Sox initially figured he would miss at least six weeks.
The recovery came with limits. Carlson couldn’t use his left hand, so he had to adjust his work in a big way. He did one-handed hitting drills with his right hand, played catch with a trainer receiving and returning throws, and kept up with sprint work, squats, lunges and lifts using only his right hand.
“It was definitely weird,” Carlson said. “We did a little hitting progression, but it was different.
I missed it so much that I was picking up a bat in my apartment and taking dry swings in the mirror and stuff like that. So I got the hang of it pretty quickly.”
That comfort showed up immediately Sunday. Carlson opened the game with a one-hop shot off the right-center field fence for a stand-up triple, then followed his next time up by lining another ball into the same gap for a double off the base of the wall.
It was a welcome sign after a quieter start to the series, when his first three hits on Friday were singles. He also went 2-for-11 with one double in three rehab games in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. For the season, 13 of his 45 hits have gone for extra bases, and he’s still searching for his first professional home run.
Even with the missed time, Carlson’s production has kept him in the mix. He doesn’t qualify for Carolina League leaderboards because of the time he lost, but among hitters with at least as many plate appearances, he ranks 10th in the league with a .408 on-base percentage. He has reached base multiple times in 24 of his 45 games with Kannapolis.
And there may be a small benefit to the injury, too. Carlson is now wearing a sliding glove on his left hand, something he didn’t use before getting hurt, and he said it’s helped him play without worrying about aggravating the thumb. He’s already put it to work, swiping three bases over the weekend.
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