Fausto Carmona, CL, Cleveland Indians

July 24, 2006 @ 16:00:00

By Adam Barricklow
Edited by Ryan Dodson

It took closer Bob Wickman a little more than two months to go from the Cleveland Indians' all-time saves leader to former Indian. It is that time of year where teams start getting honest about where they stand for postseason play, and the Indians have officially waived the white flag. On July 20, the Atlanta Braves sent C Max Ramirez to the Indians for Wickman. With Wickman gone, the Indians will turn to rookie setup man Fausto Carmona.

Carmona has been a work in progress since signing as an undrafted free agent at the age of 18. He showed he could win at the minor league level as a starter, but it took awhile for his fastball to reach its 97-mph status. Throughout the minors, he only struck out 5.64 batters per nine innings. When comparing him to someone who is anything but a strikeout pitcher, Seattle Mariners starter Jamie Moyer has a career 5.37 strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio. So you can see Carmona just burst onto the scene recently.

Table: Fausto Carmona, CL, Cleveland Indians - Minor league stats

Year	Level	G	IP	H	BB	K	W	L	ERA	WHIP
2002	Rookie	13	76.1	89	10	42	2	4	3.30	1.30
2003	A	24	148.1	117	14	83	17	4	2.06	0.88
2004	High A	12	70	67	20	57	5	2	2.83	1.24
2004	AA	15	87	114	21	63	4	8	4.97	1.55
2005	AA	14	90.2	100	20	57	6	5	4.07	1.32
2005	AAA	13	83	76	15	49	7	4	3.25	1.10
2006	AAA	4	22.1	21	4	22	0	3	4.84	1.12

Carmona made three starts for the Indians in April for injured SP C.C. Sabathia and was sent back to Triple-A after allowing at least six runs in two of his three starts. When the Indians designated Danny Graves for assignment, Carmona was recalled and placed in the bullpen. The team initially stated that he would still be considered a starter, but his performance in relief has won him a shot at the closer role.

Carmona is a hard throwing right-hander capable of throwing into the mid-90s with an impressive sinker. Though he came up as a starter in the minor leagues, his future appears to be coming in from the bullpen. As a reliever, Carmona has allowed just three earned runs in 27 1/3 innings pitched averaging just under one strikeout per inning (25). In his last 13 relief appearances he has given up just one earned run to go with 13 strikeouts.

Table: Fausto Carmona's Relief Appearances

IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
27 1/3	24	3	7	25	0.98	1.13

Relievers Rafael Betancourt, Guillermo Mota and Fernando Cabrera are all in line should Carmona struggle as the team’s closer. However, the Indians are likely to replace him only should he struggle for a prolonged period of time. Carmona’s value is hampered a bit with the Indians struggling for wins, but he is a solid pickup for any format. If you weren't quick enough to grab him off the waiver wire, then you can make a trade for him and acquire him reasonably cheap because he hasn't had many opportunities to show what he can do.

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Adam Barricklow

Adam Barricklow is based out of Central Ohio and has been a KFFL Contributor since 2003. Adam has been playing Fantasy Football since 1996 and has been addicted since day one. Adam plays in various leagues, running one of them and uses his experience and knowledge to create reports that are able to help the fantasy player look at every perspective.

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