MLB: Oakland Athletics at Texas Rangers
USATSI

Thursday, the Rangers placed All-Star outfielder Adolis García on the injured list due to a patellar tendon strain. Given how poorly the Rangers had been playing, losing one of their best players to injury was one of those "how could things get any worse?!?!" moments. As a corresponding move, however, the Rangers called up a top-10 prospect in the game, outfielder Evan Carter. 

Carter wasted no time in making his mark in the bigs, lacing a hit in his first career at-bat: 

Carter was ranked as the ninth-best prospect in baseball in June by CBS Sports prospect guru R.J. Anderson, who wrote the following at the time: 

Carter is a good reminder that overreacting on draft night is a fool's errand. The Rangers shocked the industry by selecting him in the second round in 2020. It's clear now that they were wise to do so. He hadn't been on everyone's map, but those familiar with him reported that he was a promising player whose upward trajectory was halted by the pandemic.Carter has since proved as much on the field, showing off a well-rounded game that allows him to hit for average and control the strike zone while playing a good center field and contributing plenty of stolen bases. Given his performance and the Rangers' success to date, he just might debut later this year.  

In 97 games in Double-A this season, Carter hit .284/.411/.451 with 12 homers and 22 stolen bases. He spent only eight games in Triple-A, where he hit .353 and scored eight runs. 

The Rangers entered Friday having lost 15 of their last 19 games, a stretch that took them from a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL West to three out in the division and a half-game out of a playoff spot altogether. Basically, any boost Carter can give them here in the short term is more than welcome.