Can Carlos Carrasco prove useful in the Yankee rotation? (AP)
This week, Shohei Ohtani hit a walk-off dinger as the Dodgers set a new record for consecutive wins to begin the season for a defending champ; Garrett Crochet rewarded Boston’s faith with a career-high eight-inning gem; and All-Star Ketel Marte has inked a six-year, US$116.5 million extension. Other Fantasy baseball stories we’re following include…
Carlos Carrasco to Make First Start
Two years ago, the New York Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Last season, they bounced back, winning 94 games and becoming AL Champs before bowing to the Dodgers in the World Series. So far this season, New York is off to an even better start, winning its first three before dropping the last two.
But questions remain, especially in the rotation.
Veteran starter Carlos Carrasco — forced into the rotation because of a wave of injuries to the team’s projected starters — struggled in his Yankee debut, but remains a hurler with good strikeout potential, as we’ve discussed as recently as August.
After the disaster that was 2023, he was somewhat better last season, although his ERA (5.64) and WHIP (1.40) still made him tough to roster for Fantasy purposes. The losses piled up, making 2022’s comeback effort seem like an outlier. And Carrasco’s debut this year didn’t exactly inspire confidence, either.
Let’s face it, he’s pretty much only on the big league squad because Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery), Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt were all hurt, although in fairness to Carrasco, he was really sharp this spring (see video below).
Also, his rough first outing came in relief, so let’s see how he fares given the chance to go through his regular preparation process as a starter on Thursday. Once upon a time, Carrasco’s pure stuff was very alluring, but injuries and age (he recently turned 38) have caught up to him, so this could be a very short-lived experiment for the Yankees.
From a Fantasy perspective, we wouldn’t touch him unless he forces us to pay attention with a run of solid starts.
Edmundo Sosa’s Scorching Start
Since bottoming out with 28 wins in 60 games in the 2020 Covid-shortened season, the Philadelphia Phillies have been a team on the rise. They finished back over .500 in 2021, increased their win total by five the following year, reached 90 wins in 2023 and then bumped that to 95 last season, making the playoffs three straight years but getting knocked out earlier each season.
This year, the Phils are off to a blazing start with four wins in the first five games, so small wonder they are listed at +1300 (the highest odds except for the Dodgers) to have the best record in the majors this season as per FanDuel.
One of the reasons Philadelphia has jumped out of the gate so quickly has been the surprisingly strong showing by infielder Edmundo Sosa. A dude who really hasn’t been a Fantasy factor over his career given his status as a utility man, all he’s done so far is record four straight multi-hit games to begin the season.
The last time a Phillie did that was in 2010, when both Ryan Howard and Placido Polanco turned the trick.
Sosa’s reward? A spot on the bench for Thursday afternoon’s tilt against Colorado.
Still, it’s hard to overlook his early-season exploits. He’s scored a run in every game and over the last two, has turned three doubles into four RBI. Sosa saw less action last year despite showing modest growth at the plate; this year – at least so far – he’s making the case for more PT. Yes, he got extra burn with Trea Turner (back) sidelined for a few days, but Sosa opened up enough eyes to have earned more opportunities.
Throughout his career, he’s consistently struggled to become an everyday player, and we don’t really see that happening right now, but it makes for a fun early-season story to follow. For what it’s worth, Sosa has been a very popular waiver wire addition this week, so if you believe in what you’re seeing, go ahead and latch on, but it’s hard to envision him providing anything more than short-term value unless the Phillies opt to bench second baseman Bryson Stott.
Waiver Wire Pick of the Week
Hunter Goodman, C/OF, Colorado Rockies (ESPN: 12.2 per cent; CBS: 45 per cent): Goodman more or less broke through as a full-time big leaguer last year, albeit in a backup role, and while he flashed some pop, his .190 BA and lousy strike zone judgment made him a poor Fantasy option. So far this season, however, he looks like a different player, getting on base at a 40 per cent clip while still bashing long balls. Goodman has hit safely in all five games, driving in runs in the last three and homering in the last two. He’s a popular waiver wire add this week, and seems like a potential breakthrough candidate after graduating from the prospect ranks last season.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Out of Topeka, Kansas, prog rock band Kansas first gained popularity in the 1970s thanks to hits like “Dust in the Wind,” which reached No. 6 on Billboard Hot 100 in 1978.