Fulmer spins three perfect frames for Dash

When Carson Fulmer signed his first professional contract, he immediately decided to give some back.

The 21-year-old donated $10,000 of his $3.47 million signing bonus to the Amateur City Elite program, a charity that gives inner city youth the resources to play baseball.

"I heard about it from Ro Coleman, one of my teammates at [Vanderbilt]," Fulmer said. "He was actually part of the organization and we talked about it and it was definitely something that I wanted to contribute to. Being involved with the White Sox and it being part of what they want to do with trying to give back, I definitely wanted to be a part of that."

His presence on the mound may be his next gift to the city of Chicago.

The White Sox' second-ranked prospect struck out two over three perfect innings in his sixth professional start Saturday as Class A Advanced Winston-Salem topped Salem, 7-3, on at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium.

"I felt good," Fulmer said. "I felt like the biggest thing for me was being able to slow down a little bit and kind of just stay through my delivery. Last couple outings, I feel like I was rushing through, but I was taking a deep breath, getting down the hill and getting ahead early."

The eighth overall pick in this year's Draft, Fulmer is having his workload slowly built up by the organization. Although he has not been able to go more than three innings in his five outings with the Dash, he's allowed four runs and on hits while fanning 14 over 13 innings.

"When you feel good and you got the momentum, you definitely want to carry your team deep into the game," Fulmer said of pitching limited innings. "But the White Sox have a plan and I'm just going along with what they have in mind and just coming to the field every day trying to get better."

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound right-hander is among the more advanced prospects to come out of the Draft, as he was sent directly to the Carolina League after a one-inning debut in the Rookie-level Arizona League on July 18. The adjustment hasn't been exceedingly difficult.

"I think the biggest thing is coming to the field and knowing that you're playing every day," Fulmer said. "I know I'm not pitching every day, but you still have to get your mind around it and you have to learn as much as you can for your next outing. Every day is an opportunity to learn some new things, especially with the coaches and the players that I'm playing with.

"I've been very pleased with how I'm throwing the baseball and how much I'm learning. I'll continue to keep doing what I'm doing and staying on my routine and hopefully finish the year strong."

Additionally, MLB.com's No. 49 overall prospect has remained focused on the present, even with the Majors only three levels away.

"Going through baseball you always dream about being a big leaguer and having an opportunity to help your team win in the big leagues, but I really don't look at my class," Fulmer said. "I'm around guys that are winners, they want to win. I'm around an organization that is willing to help their players develop and get to that level as fast as possible.

"You come to the field every day and you have a goal in mind, and that goal is to get better. The results will take care of themselves and, hopefully, you find yourself in the big leagues."

But will he be ready if the call to Chicago comes sooner than expected?

"Yes, sir, definitely," the Florida native said. "Like I said, I come to the field with a goal in mind and I'm going to do everything I can to prepare myself for the next start. The competition obviously is better, but it's still the game of baseball and you still have to go out and compete and try to give everything you have in order to compete at a high level.

"I feel like I'm mentally and physically ready for it. There's a ton of things I'll still continue to learn, even when I get to that level. Hopefully, I can get up there and help the White Sox win soon."

Sixth-ranked White Sox prospect Trey Michalczewski collected two hits and an RBI for Winston-Salem, while No. 14 prospect Jake Peter went 2-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs.

Red Sox No. 13 prospect Trey Ball (8-11) started for Salem and allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings.