3) Underrated Ace
Cleveland Indians starter Carlos Carrasco is relying more on breaking balls this season, and is having success because of it.
Not all clubs are lucky enough to have a Corey Kluber at the top of their rotation. Those clubs who are lucky enough don’t often feature two other aces behind him in the rotation, the Cleveland Indians are the exception. While Corey Kluber gets most of the notarity and rightfully so, considering the the two time Cy-Young winner is again having another great season, Trevor Bauer was right there with him and Chris Sale in terms of this seasons Cy-Young race. Unfortunately for Bauer his time missed due to injury has most likely halted his Cy-Young candidacy, but luckily for Indians fans Carlos Carrasco was ready to pick up the slack down the stretch.
A big reason for Carrasco’s success this season is his reliance on breaking balls, preferably the slider or curve ball. His use of those two pitches is up (38.5%) 3.5% this season, and while that make not seem like a lot the increase has helped him boost his highest Whiff % of his career thus far (14.6.) That means Carrasco has used the success of Kluber and Bauer to help grow his own career as the three of them are playing into the narrative that everyone either strikes out or hits a home run in baseball now.
Carrasco is on the wrong side of 30 and has experienced a decrease in velocity the last few seasons, yet is probably as dominate as he has ever been. Here’s to hoping his success continues on into the postseason, so the Tribe is able to have three top end starters pitching in a playoff series.
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