Rockies’ Carasiti Excels As Closer

DENVER—Righthander Matt Carasiti was miscast as a starter, where the four days after a bad outing could be mentally ruinous and lead to another poor start.

But as a closer, the 24-year-old has thrived, and his velocity has leaped.

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“As a starter, he was 89-92 (mph),” player development director Zach Wilson said. “Even his first year of relief he was 91-94. Over the last year, he’s been 95-97.”

Carasiti closed at St. John’s as a sophomore, so the move to the bullpen as a professional wasn’t completely foreign.

Drafted in sixth round in 2012, Carasiti went 2-10, 7.94 in 20 starts at low Class A Asheville in 2013 and averaged 4.2 walks, 5.8 strikeouts and 13.2 hits per nine innings. He returned to Asheville as a reliever in 2014 and went 6-2, 3.08 in 76 innings while averaging 9.0 strikeouts and 3.3 walks per nine innings.

“The more he’s pitched out of the bullpen, the more velocity he’s had over the last couple years,” Wilson said. “And you’re also talking about a wipeout splitter. He also has a changeup (with) not as much action as the splitter has. He’s also got a slider that he can throw for strikes.”

Carasiti went 3-7, 3.02 last year in 57 innings at high Class A Modesto, averaging 9.1 strikeouts and 3.5 walks per nine innings. After closer Carlos Estevez moved up to Double-A toward the end of May, Carasiti went 22-for-24 in save opportunities.

He began this season with two saves in two games at Double-A Hartford, where his fastball and split-fingered pitch, both dominant offerings, give him a margin of error.

“He’s going to be a control over command guy,” Wilson said, “. . . but when he does (control the) velocity he has, and keeps the ball down with angle, and gets ahead that way, then he can put guys away with either a fastball or a splitter

“You don’t worry about command as much as you worry about control with a guy like that.”

ROCKY ROADS

• Triple-A Albuquerque catcher Tom Murphy is sidelined with an oblique strain. He suffered the injury in a workout right before the season began.

• Righthanders Konner Wade and Johendi Jiminian at Hartford and Modesto lefthander Helmis Rodriguez are pitching long relief after starting in past seasons.