From 2009 to 2013, Carlos Carrasco failed to establish himself in the big leagues back when he was with the Cleveland Guardians.
Something clicked in 2014, and since then, he has been a steady, consistent middle-of-the-rotation stalwart: first with the Guardians, and since 2021, for the New York Mets.
Last year was full of injuries for him, but he has shown in 2022 that all he needs to shine is health.
Not only he is posting a typical Carrasco ERA of 3.70 with more strikeouts (143) than innings pitched (141), but he has also been one of the winningest pitchers in recent memory.
“Pitchers with at least three 15-win seasons since 2017: -Carlos Carrasco –Gerrit Cole –Zack Greinke –Max Scherzer –Justin Verlander,” Mets insider Anthony DiComo tweeted.
Pitchers with at least three 15-win seasons since 2017:
-Carlos Carrasco
-Gerrit Cole
-Zack Greinke
-Max Scherzer
-Justin Verlander— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 16, 2022
As you can see, that’s pretty good company right there: all of those pitchers except for Cole (and Carrasco himself) have won the Cy Young award at least once, and Cole deserved it in 2019 and 2021.
Wins Don’t Have The Same Weight As They Used To
Wins are no longer an accurate method to measure a pitcher’s worth or talent level, but it’s always nice to accumulate them.
Carrasco won 18 games in 2017 and 17 in 2018, and he was a valued member of Cleveland’s rotation back then.
Injuries limited him to 80 innings in 2019, so he really didn’t have the chance to win at least 15, and 2020 was a short season.
He was again hurt in 2021, but has been mostly healthy during the current campaign, and he has notched 15 victories from the mound.
Carrasco should be a member of the Mets’ playoff rotation alongside Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Chris Bassitt.
In fact, he could be fighting for a spot in the staff with Taijuan Walker.
That’s a good problem to have if you are the Mets.
