The Blue Jays’ player development had a fantastic year in 2025, with several success stories enjoying breakout 2025 seasons. Heading into 2026, several players have a chance to take the next step and knock on the door of the big leagues.

One of those players is pitching prospect Irv Carter IV – referred to by some as IC4 –  who was drafted back in 2021 out of Calvary Christian High School (FL), slowly working his way up the organizational ladder. He spent the entire 2025 season at High-A Vancouver, going through some ups and downs that ultimately helped him improve as a pitcher and competitor.

After earning a midseason call-up to Vancouver in 2024, Carter was back to start the year with Canada’s only minor league team last year. However, things didn’t start off the way he envisioned them.

“When I first started my season, the first month and a half was very frustrating,” said Carter, speaking with Blue Jays Nation. “I know I’m in a very results-based business, and when you’re not getting the results that you want, it’s very disheartening and very hard to get over. But I’m really, really glad that I had the support of the organization to come to me and kind of sit me down and take me off the playing field for two weeks and kind of get me back to Irv Carter Baseball and to throwing a lot of strikes.”

The right-hander was placed on the development list in early May for two weeks as a way for the organization to work with him on some mechanical adjustments. Although it was tough at first, Carter understands that the time away from the mound was exactly what he needed.

“It’s very hard to make changes while you’re performing, so when they kind of took me off the playing field and allowed me to work on my stuff, with no stress and no game-like scenarios going on, it allowed me to come back to the game with a new mindset, a new mentality and new weapons. I felt that after I came back, that’s when I really started to perform and pitch the way I know how to,” explained Carter.

The Blue Jays hired former big league pitcher Justin Lehr as their Minor League Pitching Coordinator at the end of 2024. Lehr worked with Carter during his time on the development list, including a pitch grip change on his cutter and a delivery change on his sinker that helped him through the rest of the season.

“If we’re even going back to 2024, I was known for my cutter, and that’s what kind of got me on the map as a pitcher,” said Carter. “The pitch is kind of like my baby. I felt that when I started 2025, I didn’t have my cutter, and I also didn’t have a true sinker. When Justin came down, he just perfected my cutter, gave me new cues, and gave me a new grip and the confidence to throw that pitch repeatedly for strikes and in the zone in any count.

“When it came to my sinker, it was really just about tinkering with my delivery a bit and being a little more corked. Towards the end of the year, my foot would actually be kind of almost facing towards second base. That was just because I was trying to create an arc on my front hip and for me to be a bit more flexible and more athletic going through the zone.”

When the Blue Jays drafted him in the fifth round back in 2021, Carter was viewed more as a starting pitcher. After some mixed results in the lower minors, he transitioned to a bullpen role in 2024, which required some changes in his preparation.

“The biggest thing with starting and relieving is just your routine,” stated Carter. “As a starter, you know what day you’re throwing, you know what time you have to start your workouts, you know what time you have to eat lunch, and you know what time you have to lock in with music. Everyone has a different routine, so starting is very much on your own timing and all about you. With relieving, you don’t know when your name’s going to get called; you could be called and sat back down, you could get called back up, sit back down again. I just think it’s about just perfecting your routine and staying ready in the bullpen.”

Carter pitched much better after he returned from the development list. On May 6th, his ERA was 10.95, carrying a whip of 2.03 while striking out less than a batter per inning. He returned to produce a 4.31 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 9.8 K/9, numbers he can build on with a full offseason of development.

A lot more than physical skills go into making a quality baseball player, as the mental side of the game is just as important. Dealing with the ups and downs of a season is an experience that the 23-year-old hopes to learn and grow from.

“I think it’s good to deal with struggles,” explained Carter. “I think you have to embrace them, because if you don’t, you’re never going to succeed. My rule with myself that I’ve kind of had over the years is that, no matter how good or bad I pitch, at 12 o’clock, I stop thinking about it. If you give up the winning grand slam, you’re obviously going to feel bad about it; you’re a human being, so I allow myself to feel whatever I need to feel until 12 o’clock. But then the next day, I have to show up for my guys, I have to show up for my team. I can’t let that soak into the next day because that could bring other guys down.”

Carter is a guy who tends to wear his heart on his sleeve on the mound, carrying a presence and swagger that fires up teammates and fans. However, a goal of his for this upcoming season is to be a bit more even-keeled when dealing with both successes and failures.

“I think showing emotion is good, but I think it’s also a reminder of how things can go south in baseball very fast,” says Carter. “You may have a good week, and everyone’s talking you up….and then the next week you get shelled for five earned in one inning, and it’s a different story. So I think a big thing for me going into 2026 is to just pitch the same way, whether I give up a grand slam or if I strike out the side. I think a big thing too is just to keep my emotions intact until I’m done performing.”

Carter spent time around the player development complex in Dunedin during the Blue Jays’ run to the World Series. He was also teammates with Trey Yesavage during his brief stopover in Vancouver at the end of May, and wasn’t surprised at the success that the big league club experienced last fall.

“It was electric,” explained Carter. “I think everyone in that building knows that they can get back to the World Series and win it. The player development has been amazing since I’ve been here in 2021, and it’s only gone up. I mean, you could see how much the Jays care about winning with the expansion of their facilities and the guys they have already signed for this year. It tells you that they want to be in contention and be that top dog at the end of October. So the energy is great, everyone knows we have a great ball club, but I think everyone’s even more excited with the talent that’s coming up the pipeline.”

After spending around a season and a half in High-A, it remains to be seen where Carter may start off the 2026 season. A return to Vancouver could be in the cards to show that he’s built on his mid-season adjustments, and time will tell when he’ll have the opportunity to pitch with Double-A New Hampshire.

Regardless of where he starts the year, Carter is focused on what he can control.

“You can’t allow things to distract your mind when you have no control over them,” says Carter. “The only thing I have control of is how I eat, how I sleep, how I spend my time off the field and how I get ready to go perform. The rest will take care of itself, and I know everything’s in God’s hands. If it were up to me, I would love to be in Toronto this year. But, I know there’s a plan for everything, and I know that if I just work hard every day, I’ll be where I want to be at the end of the day.”

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