Carpenter was drafted out of Texas Christian University in the 13th round by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009.
Why? Well, because of his tremendous power of course.
Just kidding.
He was drafted because he was a hitting machine. Singles, doubles and occasionally some triples. He was also equipped with an uncanny ability to draw walks. He was the prototypical leadoff hitter and the Cardinals took a shot on him and brought him up to the Majors just two years later, where he played in just seven games as a big leaguer. It wasn’t until the next year that he started to blossom.