John Mallee

By Brian McTaggart

MLB.com | March 17, 2013
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Astros left fielder Chris Carter has been working in the batting cage daily with hitting coach John Mallee and assistant hitting coach Dan Radison on getting his stride foot down early and making sure his back side comes through the zone.

The results were on display Sunday when Carter, the slugger acquired from the A’s in last month’s Jed Lowrie trade, went 2-for-3 with a pair of two-run homers and five RBIs in the Astros’ 11-2 win over the Jays. Carter’s four homers is tied for the team lead with Jason Castro and Brandon Laird, both of whom also homered Sunday.
“It’s still a work in progress … but it all came together today,” Carter said.

Houston manager Bo Porter could tell early in the spring that Carter’s timing wasn’t great, and he preached it was only a matter of time before Carter came around.

“Carter has done a lot of extra work with John Mallee and Dan Radison, and they’ve done a tremendous job getting things dialed up with him and you’re starting to see the power display,” Porter said. “We knew when he got his timing down, he has power to all fields and he’s capable of doing what he did today consistently.”

Carter also played his best game of the spring in left field, including making a running catch near the line.

“I feel better out there reading the ball off the bat,” Carter said. “I got a couple of good jumps today, and the hard work is paying off.”