Troy Taormina – USA Today Sports
Fantasy Baseball fans have heard Chris Carter’s name as a potential power source for a few years now. Although he has realized that potential this season with the Houston Astros, not many owners have seemed to noticed, or even care.
Carter is currently available in over 70 percent of ESPN leagues despite mashing 15 home runs and 40 RBI all with a solid .781 OPS. Sure, he’s hitting only .231, but when you line up his numbers against many other fantasy first baseman more universally owned than him, he more than stacks up.
Related: 2013 Fantasy Baseball: SP Joe Blanton Continues Hot Streak
Only five first basemen have more home runs than him and he’s in the top 20 in RBI and runs scored among those eligible at first base despite being on one of the worst offenses in the league.
Compare his slash line (AVG/OBP/SLG) to some other big names, and you may be even more impressed. His line of .231/.323/.458 stacks up with the 100-percent owned Albert Pujols (.249/.324/.431), Ryan Howard (.268/.321/.468) and Mark Trumbo (.251/.322/.463). Outside of first base, he also bests some other power hitters owned in 100 percent of leagues such as Josh Hamilton (.221/.227/.388) and Yoenis Cespedes (.222/.285/.448). He has hit more home runs than all of these names except for Trumbo (17).
Simply put, there is no reason for Carter to be sitting on the waiver wire in so many leagues. He has five home runs and 11 RBI this month while raising his average up over .230, and Carter could easily finish this season with a .250 average and 30 home runs. There’s also a chance that Carter finds himself on a better offense by the trade deadline as he has value and the Astros are clearly not going anywhere this season. If your team is struggling in the power department and Carter is sitting out there, there’s no reason not to add him to your lineup.
Rich Arleo is a fantasy sports expert with Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Rarleo, ‘Like’ him on Facebook and add him to your networks on Google.
