Kerry William Carpenter (born September 2, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.
Amateur career
Carpenter attended Eustis High School in Eustis, Florida, where he batted .463 with three home runs as a senior in 2016.
After graduating, he enrolled at St. Johns River State College where he played two years of
college baseball, before transferring to
Virginia Tech to play for the Virginia Tech Hokies for the 2019 season. In his year with Virginia Tech, he started 53 games, and hit .272 with ten home runs and 45 runs batted in.
Professional career
Carpenter was drafted by the
Detroit Tigers in the 19th round, with the 562nd overall selection, of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.
Carpenter signed with the Tigers and split his first professional season between the rookie–level Gulf Coast League Tigers and Low–A Connecticut Tigers, batting .303 with nine home runs and 35 runs batted in over 47 games. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carpenter spent 2021 with the Double–A
Erie SeaWolves and hit .262 with 15 home runs, 74 runs batted in, and 24 doubles over 112 games.
He returned to Erie to open the 2022 season.
He was named Eastern League Player of the Month for May.
After batting .304 with 22 home runs and 48 runs batted in during 63 games with Erie, he was promoted to the Triple–A Toledo Mud Hens in late June.
On August 10, 2022, the Tigers selected Carpenter's contract and added him to the Major League roster.
Carpenter began the 2024 campaign with Detroit, hitting .283 with eight home runs and 29 runs batted in across 50 games. He was placed on the injured list with lumbar vertebrae spine inflammation on May 29, 2024.
He finished the 2024 postseason batting .306 with four home runs and 10 runs batted in for eight games.
On June 2, 2025, Carpenter hit three home runs in a 13–1 Tigers victory over the Chicago White Sox. It was the first three-homer game of his career, and the first by a Tiger since Victor Martínez in 2016.
Awards and highlights
-
Eastern League Player of the Month: May 2022
-
First three-home-run game by a Tiger since 2016 (June 2, 2025)
Playing style
Reporters have described Carpenter as a left-handed power bat with a compact swing whose adjustments since 2022 improved his results against both right- and left-handed pitching.
While primarily a corner outfielder, he has also appeared regularly as a designated hitter.
Personal life
Carpenter is a
Christianity. He has said, “My goal, basically, is to just be as great as I possibly can be, to reach my full potential. And I personally believe the only way to do that is through Jesus Christ. That’s the foundation. That’s the rock. He’ll guide me and lead me wherever, but that’s kind of the way I think I can honor Him through this sport that I play.”
In December 2023, Carpenter became engaged to Lauren Burke, a former collegiate softball player who played for the Oregon Ducks and Texas Longhorns.
External links
