Carlos Carrasco may not have been the Indians' first choice to be their fifth starter, but he will get his chance in the rotation nonetheless. Having served a five-game suspension, Carrasco is scheduled to start against the Yankees on Tuesday.
Maybe Carrasco will eventually get supplanted by Scott Kazmir (abdomen) once he comes off the 15-day disabled list, but then again, he could pitch well enough to stick in the rotation, regardless of Kazmir's status. Carrasco missed the 2012 season, as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, but in 2011, he got ground balls (51 percent) and swings-and-misses (9.1 percent) at good rates over 21 starts.
Carrasco doesn't bring the buzz or the upside of just-demoted Trevor Bauer, and ultimately, Bauer is the pitcher I'd rather own in Fantasy, but Carrasco could be a useful arm in AL-only formats and possibly even deeper mixed leagues. Particularly for your AL-only rosters, now is the time to claim Carrasco, and not after his season debut. Carrasco could fare well enough against the Yankees to start a wave of deep-league pickups.