Menu
Carr’s comfortability with Rex leading to positive pitching results
With some connections on the Terre Haute Rex roster and the team in need of pitching help more than halfway through the 2022 Prospect League season, the Rex signed Landon Carr, who had graduated from Northview High School a few months earlier, to a rest-of-the-summer contract.
Carr was thrust into duty out of the Rex bullpen, pitching in back-to-back games on June 21 and 22 to get his feet wet against collegiate players.
He went on to post strong overall numbers. Carr finished with a 2-1 record and a 3.60 ERA in his 10 innings that spanned five appearances, although he noted it was much harder than his final statistics made it look.
“Joining the Rex last summer midway through [and being] fresh out of high school was a bit of a challenge,” he stated. “Upon joining in mid-July, every player had already faced live pitching since early June. Not only that but seeing college arms all spring as well. So, coming in around mid-July without facing hitters since the sectional was a struggle, especially going up against college hitters while I hadn’t seen a collegiate hitter in the box while on the mound.”
At the conclusion of the Prospect League season, Carr made his way to Kansas City to play his freshman year at Rockhurst University. There, the former Knight served as a two-way player for the Hawks.
At the plate, Carr put up a battling line (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) of .250/.300/.321 in 56-at bats to go along with one double, one home run, four runs scored and seven runs driven in. On the mound, Carr appeared in 10 games, which included eight starts, and posted a record of 2-5 to go along with an ERA of 10.09 and a WHIP of 1.99 while striking out 27 batters in his 35.2 innings pitched.
His play earned him another summer contract with the Rex where he was placed in the team’s pitching plans from the get-go.
Having last season’s experiences to look back on, Carr said he has settled into the group around him much easier.
“Coming in this summer from the beginning has come easier to me. I faced great hitters all year and pitched nearly every weekend from March through May,” said Carr. “Joining the team this year, I had learned a few things from the previous summer. Among the most was blocking out my surroundings while on the mound. I had trouble getting used to big crowds along with fans trying to get into your head after every pitch last summer. This year so far, I’ve had a much easier time maintaining focus in those loud moments. Along with that was creating relationships with all of the guys. Last summer, I joined a little late and didn’t really get to know many of the guys. This year, I’ve made sure to do the opposite and spend some time with the other players.”
Terre Haute Rex assistant coach Jacob Harden, who is also a former Northview standout and is the current Linton head baseball coach, has noticed Carr fitting in much easier as well, noting that being a part of the team from the start, while also playing a full college season before that, has paid major dividends for him.
“Landon has grown so much from last summer,” said Harden. “I was so proud of the way he competed last year as someone who just graduated high school, but you can tell his first full season of college ball has helped him. He seems much more comfortable now. He’s been competing really well.”
Carr made his first appearance of the summer on June 3. He twirled two innings in relief in a win over the Johnstown Mill Rats. Two days later, Carr started against Johnstown. This time, he went seven innings and earned the victory.
Since that point, Carr has made four appearances – two starts and two outings out of the bullpen – and has been quite solid in each, which included picking up the save against the Lafayette Aviators in his most recent performance.
Carr has been pleased with the way things have gone so far for him, although he said he’s been battling a bit of fatigue recently. He knows it’s something he’s going to have to battle through with 25 games left on the schedule.
“I’ve been pleased for the most part with how I have been pitching. Through my first three outings, I commanded all pitches well and threw with good velocity, I felt. In my outing [against Champion City on June 26], I struggled with locating some off-speed pitches, leading me to get into fastball counts, which then led to big hits,” said Carr. “Fatigue has definitely played a role in my summer. I just try to make sure I get enough sleep and eat correctly to reduce that. Whether it’s getting more sleep at night or naps on the bus rides to games, I try to rest when it’s available.”
Harden has seen the growth of Carr from a mentality standpoint, stating the right-hander has a ‘gritty mindset’ when he takes the hill. That’s allowed him to use his best stuff, which in turn, have come with positive results for the Northview great.
“His mindset has been gritty. He wants the ball to get hitters out unless they do something about it,” said Harden of Carr. “He has rebounded from tough starts and is locked in when he needs to be. He’s a 19-year-old pitching with the composure of an upperclassman.”
With just under one month of games left to go, Carr said there are a variety of aspects in his game that he would like to tighten up before heading back to Rockhurst.
Among them? “I would like to just pitch at my overall greatest capacity. Throw all pitches with great command and movement,” he said.
He would also like to see the Rex stack up wins in the second half to clinch a playoff spot.
“Team-wise, I would like to win the second half of the season and win the league tournament before heading back to school,” said Carr.
Whether their time together will finish on August 5 or will continue on into the Prospect League postseason, Harden said it’s been an honor to coach Carr again.
“It makes my heart so happy to see Landon succeed. I have known him for so long – from him being our bat boy at Northview when I was a senior to him being a freshman on our JV squad when Mike Walters and I were coaching [at Northview] to now being able to coach him on the Rex. Talk about coming full circle. You couldn’t write a better script than this,” said Harden. “It has been a true honor being his coach. I am so blessed for the opportunity to be with him on the Rex again this summer.”