Huskies Alum Finally Arrives in Big Leagues, Called Up by the New York Mets

by Cerwin D Haynes

(thumbnail photos courtesy of mlb.com and IG: mets_batflip)

The East Los Angeles College baseball program has had more than a handful of players that went on to be drafted by Major League Baseball teams. They were assigned to the minors and had varying degrees of success, but no one in modern times had reached all the way up to big leagues in at least 30 years.

This morning, the New York Mets announced that 2016 ELAC Baseball alum and pitcher Alex Carrillo - wh  o had been thriving at Triple-A Syracuse - has been called up to their big league roster. It's the first time in at least 30 years that a former Husky has made it all the way to the majors.

Carrillo, 28, had previously only pitched 4 1/3 innings combined in the Texas Rangers' farm system before playing in independent leagues as well as Mexico and Venezuela. The Mets signed him last year to a minor-league contract after scouting him in Venezuela, and assigned him to Double-A in the early spring. According to mlbtraderumors.com:

The 6'2″, 220-pound righty posted a 4.19 ERA in 19 1/3 Double-A frames but did so with an eye-catching 36.6% strikeout rate. That 4.19 earned run average also included a rocky start that was followed by a huge finish; Carrillo pitched 14 1/3 innings with a 1.88 ERA and a 24-to-3 K/BB ratio before being promoted to Triple-A. He's responded with another 5 2/3 innings of nearly perfect pitching in Syracuse. Carrillo hasn't allowed a hit or a walk there but did plunk one batter. He's fanned ten opponents and averaged 98.5 mph on his heater. 

Former longtime ELAC Baseball head coach James Hines - who coached Carrillo back in 2016 - was ecstatic to hear the news. "Happy for the guy," said Hines. "It was a long road for him. He originally started at Riverside City College and then transferred to us."

From ELAC, Carrillo graduated and transferred to Faulkner University in Alabama, which Hines noted has a good NAIA baseball program. The West Covina native went undrafted but briefly signed with the Rangers and was assigned to their Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex where Carrillo recorded those aforementioned 4 1/3 innings of pitching. He was released the following year as a Covid-casualty (many MLB teams released large bulks of their young talent at the onset of the pandemic).

According to Anthony DiComo of mlb.com, Carrillo reinvented his pitch arsenal by time he played for the Venezuelan Winter League. Previously topping out at 80 mph, he now has a fastball that tops out at 100. Complementing his heater, has throws a sinker along with a changeup around 90 mph plus a slider and cutter in the 80s. His pitching mix now fields great success: he's allowed no hits over 5 2/3 innings at Triple-A Syracuse. He had previously posted a 4.19 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings for Double-A Binghamton, and he had a 20-inning streak of 1.35 ERA ball with just three runs on nine hits and three walks, striking out 34 batters over that period.

Those numbers, along with a 36.6% strikeout rate, earned Carrillo his long-awaited call-up to the Show. The Mets need bullpen help, and they'll be looking for his fastball to notch key strikeouts in relief duty.

Carillo will have the full slate of minor league options since this will be his first call to the majors, with six seasons of club control. Hines expects that his former hurler will be moved up and down between the big club and the minors for the foreseeable future. 

Click here for the 2016 ELAC Baseball photo galleries to see Carrillo in Huskies' green.

HUSKY BITS

• Carrillo made eight appearances for East LA during his 2016 campaign, starting five of those games. He had a record of 3-2 with an ERA of 1.89, striking out 32 batters in 33 1/3 innings.