David Carpenter
Fairmont native David Carpenter has been on staff as a baseball instructor at Pro Performance since the beginning. The former standout catcher at East Fairmont and West Virginia University is on staff until he leaves for Spring Training in February. Carpenter was a 12th round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. He spent his first two professional seasons as a catcher before the Cardinals converted him to a pitcher.
In 2010 he was traded to the Houston Astros. A hard throwing relief pitcher, Carp pitched in the prestigious Arizona Fall League in 2010 and was added to the Astros 40 man roster shortly after. He made his Major League debut with the Astros in 2011. Carpenter spent the first half of 2012 with the Astros before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, he ended the season in the Toronto bullpen. In 2013, Carpenter was the set up man for the Atlanta Braves and posted an ERA under 2.00. Carpenter was traded to the New York Yankees before the start of the 2015 season and again to the Washington Nationals midway though the season.