Yahoo Sports 
Mostly MLB Notes: Talking Carlos Carrasco, Ryan Braun and a look around the league
Carlos Carrasco has an ugly 4.74 ERA, and I don’t want to point to his .351 BABIP as an automatic mark due for regression, because Cleveland’s defense is bad. However, getting Yan Gomes back should be a big help, and everything else here screams a pitcher who looks like a dominant ace (his 22.3 K-BB% ranks seventh best in baseball, while his 12.3 SwStr% is also top-10). Carrasco had a 1.72 ERA and 0.90 WHIP over 78.2 innings after the All-Star break last year, and his peripherals look even better in 2015 despite him having to deal with taking a line drive off his head early on. Carrasco could easily be a top-five fantasy starter from here on out, so try to buy him low in your fantasy league.
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Entering May 15, Ryan Braun’s OPS sat at .742, which was a career low by a wide margin (his career worst was .777 last season, but a thumb injury that was corrected by surgery over the offseason was to blame). He’s since raised that to .872 over 10 games, thanks to five homers over that span. Braun is now quietly on pace to finish with a .270-96-41-125-15 line. I said I was worried about his power earlier this year, which was clearly wrong and yet another reason for me not to attempt scouting. Braun may very well get hurt again, but he’s back to hitting like a star right now.
Headlines of the Week: Carbon Monoxide Leak Kills Couple Having Sex In Car...Man Swallows Hamster In Front Of Children ‘To Show How Dear Life Is’...Yellowstone Supervolcano Much Bigger Than Thought...Dad Unknowingly Impregnated Daughter, Who Worries How To Tell Their Son His Grandfather Is His Father...Pilot Says Passenger’s Annoying Cough Made Him Forget To Put Landing Gear Down, Resulting in Crash Landing...Chinese Restaurant Discounts Women Wearing Miniskirts – With Shorter Dresses Earning Cheaper Meals...Nintendo Hires Bowser As New VP Of Sales.
Quick Hits: Kendrys Morales has 15 doubles and 37 RBI over 43 games, even adding 32 runs scored. He’s easily been one of the best fantasy bargains so far, and I for one definitely didn’t see this coming...I’m at a loss when it comes to Stephen Strasburg. I own him in multiple leagues, so maybe I’m irrational when I want to say “buy low.” The velocity is fine, and it’s easy to say his .390 BABIP is going to regress (it’s the highest among all starting pitchers in MLB), but his 7.2 SwStr% is well below his career mark (11.0%) and actually quite worrisome...Rusney Castillo should approach something like 15/15 from here on out and needs to be owned in all leagues...Josh Hamilton is owned in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues? Please change that ASAP...This play by Joey Votto was pretty ridiculous...He’ll probably get hurt soon, but Brett Anderson is currently owned in fewer than 10% of Yahoo leagues, which seems bizarre. He has a 31:9 K:BB ratio with a 3.33 GB/FB rate while allowing few line drives and pitching for a Dodgers offense that’s been terrific. Anderson’s 66.7 GB% is the highest in all of baseball. I’d add him if he’s available in your league...Since 2013, Madison Bumgarner has as many homers (five) as Joe Mauer in 529 fewer at bats.
Police Blotter: Man Falls Asleep While Robbing Home..23-Year-Old Florida Man’s Driver’s License Suspended 26 Times...Ex-Con Arrested, Jailed For Listerine Battery On Her 70-Year-Old Father...Man Convicted Of Killing Chandra Levy Is Likely To Get A New Trial...Suspect in D.C. Murders Identified From DNA Left On Dominos Pizza Crust.
Quick Hits Part Deux: Since last season, CC Sabathia has a strong 4.5:1 K:BB ratio. Unfortunately, he’s also allowed a whopping 18 homers over 100.1 innings. It would be quite a stretch to call this poor luck. Although it’s impressive he’s managed to still miss bats with such diminished stuff, Sabathia can safely remain on waiver wires...Speaking of former stars no longer performing, how bad has Robinson Cano been? He has one home run on the year and has been caught on three of his four SB attempts. He’s on pace to finish with 41 RBI over 656 at bats while batting third in the lineup. I guess that’s what happens when you hit .179/.250/.205 with RISP...Jake Odorizzi has been given the worst run support (1.89 runs) in MLB this season, while Nick Martinez has received the best (7.67)...Shin-soo Choo still hasn’t attempted a steal this season, but at least his bat has shown life this month, when he’s homered five times...Ryan Zimmerman has the third-most walk-off homers in NL-history, which is pretty crazy considering he’s 31 years old with fewer than 200 home runs in his career...Billy Burns is fast and has a lot of stolen base potential, especially now locked into a regular role in Oakland with Coco Crisp again on the DL. Burns has five steals over the last seven games, so it’s a bit unclear why he’s owned in fewer than five percent of Yahoo Leagues. He had 54 steals in the minors last year over just 473 ABs. I spent $66 on Burns in a high stakes NFBC league, so I’m putting my money where my mouth is.
Song of the Week: Nirvana – “Where Did You Sleep Last Night.”
Longread of the Week: Pam And Tommy: The Untold Story Of The World’s Most Infamous Sex Tape.
Quick Hits Part Tres: Prince Fielder has six homers and 16 RBI over the last dozen games, and he’s also leading the American League with a .351 batting average. He sure looks like he’s back to being a star while half of his long balls this season have come against southpaws. Fielder has more homers (295) than doubles (286) during his career...From May 5-22, Dee Gordon didn’t steal a base, attempting just one over that span. He has five stolen bases over his last three games since then and owns a .376 BA that easily leads major league baseball...Mark Teixeira has more walks than strikeouts and is on pace to finish with 49 home runs...Cameron Maybin has four homers, six steals and a .355 OBP over 105 at bats and has recently been moved into the No. 2 spot in Atlanta’s order. He will be worth using even in shallower mixed leagues until his next injury strikes...Petco Park Has Been A Launching Pad...Brandon Crawford leads all shortstops with a 151 wRC+ and is very good defensively, meaning he’s been one of the more valuable players in baseball this year...Gerrit Cole hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any start this year, has an average FB velocity of 95.6 mph that ranks top-five in baseball and is combining a 10.8 SwStr% with a 2.42 GB/FB ratio. In other words, if a draft were held today, he’d be worth a third round pick.
