Texas Rangers' 2020 second-rounder Evan Carter has stress fracture in back

The 50th overall selection is expected to play again this season for Low A Down East, where he has a .438 on-base percentage in his first pro season.

Credit: Matthew Edwards/Down East Wood Ducks

Evan Carter, the Texas Rangers’ second-round pick in the 2020 draft, is expected to be out until Sept. 1 because of a stress fracture in his lower back, two sources said.

The Rangers announced the news Monday shortly after this post.

Carter, 18, was the starting center field and leadoff hitter for Low A Down East but hasn’t played for a few weeks. He initially attempted to play through the injury but was unable to go any further.

The initial plan is for Carter to rest the back for a few more weeks before coming to Arlington on July 19 for an exam with team doctors. He would then go to the Rangers’ complex in Arizona to begin his rehab with the goal of returning to Down East for the final month.

A source said that there was no singular incident that caused the injury, but just wear and tear for a player who “plays with a lot of zest and zeal,” the source said.

Carter had been wowing the Rangers this season. He is batting .236, but had a .438 on-base percentage and an .825 OPS. He has more walks (34) than strikeouts (28), which reaffirms the advanced plate approach and discipline scouts saw in him in high school and again in the instructional league.

The Rangers were panned for selecting Carter in the second around (50th overall) from Elizabethton, Tenn., but feel his performance has proven draft analysts wrong so far.