Mets Monday Morning GM: Carlos Carrasco trade paying off with first inning success

Carlos Carrasco has now faced 238 batters than year in 10 starts. It’s one more than the 237 he faced last season in 12 appearances for the New York Mets. The results couldn’t be much different.

Carrasco is having the exact kind of season we were hoping to get from him last year. He’s not an All-Star candidate or a guy to enter the Cy Young conversation. At 6-1 with a 3.63 ERA, he’s putting up the kind of numbers you could only hope for from your fourth or fifth starter.

However, with Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer out, Carrasco has been pushed forward into the rotation as a number two or three guy depending on how you want to measure him against Taijuan Walker.

The Mets are reaping the benefits of adding Carlos Carrasco in their blockbuster trade with Cleveland

What has been the secret to Carrasco’s success? His home runs allowed are way down. He has only surrendered 3 thus far this season compared to the 12 he served on a platter to batters in 2021 in fewer innings. Add in the fact that he has given up fewer walks and hits this year, it’s no wonder Carrasco has been trusted and coming away with wins often whenever he does start for the Mets.

A major issue for Carrasco in 2021 was how he performed in the first inning of games. He finished year one in New York with a 13.50 ERA in the first inning. The culprit, once again, was the early home runs. He gave up 8 of his 11 dingers in the first frame.

This year’s early results have been far better. He has only a 1.80 ERA in the first inning. Carrasco has given up a single home run to the 41 batters he has faced before three outs have been recorded.

Perhaps equally as promising, Carrasco has been able to handle himself well versus some tougher opponents or at least in hitter’s ballparks. His first win of the season came when he threw 7.2 innings versus the San Francisco Giants. In that appearance, Carrasco gave up only 2 runs. At the beginning of May, he topped it with 8 shutout innings versus the Atlanta Braves.

Not immune to getting battered around every so often, it’s the averages he puts up that matter most. The Mets could us every inning and win they can get from him. Unlike last year when he stumbled through a season where the ball club quickly faded as soon as he returned from the IL, Cookie is helping to hold the Mets steady in 2022.