Sometimes even the blessed among us have a couple bad turns"Thanks to the work of many a bored/antsy baseball geek Andrew McCutchen Jersey , we currently have two theoretical looks at what players will do in 2019. More are coming before the winter is finished, and we’ll have more to talk about. Some are likely more accurate than others, whether because of information availability or changes in swings and approaches and the like, but in general it’s a good hint at what to expect of players. Carlos Carrasco is, obviously, graced with some sterling projections, because he is a sterling pitcher. Take a look:Carlos Carrasco 2019 projectionsProjectionWLERAGSGIPHERHRSOBBWHIPK/9BB/9FIPWARProjectionWLERAGSGIPHERHRSOBBWHIPK/9BB/9FIPWAROne thing to always keep in mind is projections are generally conservative, giving more a floor to go from than a real snapshot of the future. That said, they’re pretty solidly in line with what Carrasco has actually done in the past:CarlosCarrasco 2016-18 statisticszERAK/9BB/9FIPWARHERHRzERAK/9BB/9FIPWARHERHRIt makes sense of course — that’s the data projections use to get information, and he’s performed pretty much the same each year. Now, the one thing about Carrasco is that he’s typically a fun dark horse Cy Young candidate, but whether through injury or simply performance has yet to actually put that big time season together. The main reason for it? The homers. He’s allowed 21 each of the last three years. Not a dreadful number, somewhere like 36th most among pitchers in that span, but something that could definitely use some work. A lot of his home runs make sense — he heaved a meatball of some kind, and the hitter smashed it over the wall:That’s every home run he allowed since 2016. Again, you can see why, for a lot of them. But what about some of the lucky ones, the well-placed balls that turned into runs by some fluke or other? How can Carrasco possibly fault any of these pitches:Some of them are a bit less than perfect http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , but the couple actually out of the zone, those are good pitches to get someone to swing at. And instead Victor Martinez (lowest) and Jacoby Ellsbury (furthest left) hit it out of the park.The point being, I think Carrasco has been a bit unlucky the last few years, and some of those were just sheer luck that the guys swung and happened to connect. Like this one by Mitch Moreland:Like, he had to be guessing on that, right? Who plans to swing at a pitch on their hands like that, right? Or this curve to Whit Merrifield:That’s a great pitch. It starts about at Merrifield’s hip, then swings back to the inside corner. Maybe it hung a bit, but I have a hard time believing that was a well-advised swing. The results paid off, I suppose. Or this one to Daniel Palka. That’s right. That Daniel Palka. It’s a classic “golf it outta here” kind of dinger, but with the hideous swing and the stature of the player, it’s just the kind of hit that makes you shrug your shoulders and wonder if anything in the world will ever make sense, or if we should all just give up. The hitters are trying of course, and they’re all incredibly good. Just because Palka or Tim Anderson or Denard Span or Eduardo Escobar got a good swing on a tough pitch doesn’t detract from Carrasco’s skill. But If some of these became fly outs or little dribblers, that’s when that dark horse Cy Young starts to edge its way back into being. If he cuts the homers down to just 14 and performs like he did in 2018, that’s a 2.90-ish ERA. Not enough to beat Chris Sale or Kluber or someone like that at their best,but it’s a nudge in the right direction.There’s so much more to it than that, and more to any of the above homers than just a good Gregor Blanco Jersey , lucky swing - poor sequencing by Carrasco, the winding of the ball twine, atmosphere, a big lunch - but he’s still a top 10 pitcher in the league. If he hits a hot streak there’s no telling what heights he could hit. So yeah, even on the wrong side of 30, there’s a bit of upside to see in Carlos Carrasco, Shadow Ace. SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Willie Calhoun went on a 10-day eating splurge after the Texas Rangers ended last season, with the then-rotund outfielder visiting some of his favorite restaurants at home in California and enjoying late-night snacks.After that planned indulgence, Calhoun spent the rest of his offseason in the Dallas area focused on changing his body.“I told myself going into this offseason that I wanted to better myself as an overall person, not just as a baseball player, just as a person in general,” the 24-year-old said. “So I just wanted to take ahold of my life, really. I got tired of looking in the mirror every day and seeing myself with a stomach.”A slimmer Calhoun showed up at spring training after losing 24 pounds and dropping to 199.The 5-foot-8 Calhoun, the prized hitting prospect Texas got when Yu Darvish was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers two summers ago, changed his eating habits and committed to his fitness routine.“I really just want to take the next step in my career,” he said. “I just feel like right now is the time where I can elevate and hopefully reach my potential.”There was no more fast food, and nothing to eat after 7:30 p.m. He hired a chef to prepare meals.Primarily a second baseman in the Dodgers organization http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , Calhoun made his big league debut as an outfielder at the end of the 2017 season when he got an RBI single in his first at-bat and played 13 games. He didn’t get called up last year until late July and got sent back to the minors before returning in September. The left-handed hitter had a .222 average with two homers in 35 games for the Rangers.“This is the best of my 24 years of my life I’ve ever been, just because last year was kind of like a reality check, and really humbled me,” he said. “I told myself I never wanted to go back to where I was mentally there. … Looking back at last year, not wanting to go back to that mental state of mind, really motivated me this offseason.”Calhoun is hoping to earn a spot on the opening-day roster, likely as a fourth outfielder since the Rangers appear set with Joey Gallo, Delino DeShields and Nomar Mazara as starters. There are two other veterans, likely designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo and three-time All-Star outfielder Hunter Pence, who is in camp on a minor league deal.New manager Chris Woodward is familiar with Calhoun from his days in Los Angeles, where he was the third-base coach and an infielder instructor the past three years. Woodward has noticed the obvious change in the player’s approach and appearance, and seen his daily commitment both physically and mentally.“He’s in a better place because he’s not worried about . like in the past it was always am I too heavy, there was always this kind of way about him that he felt like he wasn’t good enough. And now it’s like that’s wiped out, he’s put in the work,” Woodward said. “‘Now it’s time to play baseball, he’s excited about that.”