Hector Carrasco: Diamond in the rough?

Hector Carrasco pitched another gem last night, as the Nationals shut out the Marlins, 4-0. Carrasco gave up only two hits in six innings while striking out six. He was brilliant last night, and he has been brilliant ever since he stepped into the rotation. As a starter, Carrasco's stats are amazing: 0.83 ERA, 4.76 H/9, .37 HR/9, 9.13 K/9. Batters are hitting an anemic .167 against him. The only troubling stat is that he gives up a lot of walks--4.37 per nine innings--but that's a blip on Hector's otherwise fantastic radar screen.

The issue, obviously, is whether Hector can keep this up. He's soon to be 36, and you don't normally see starting pitchers begin a career at 36. Of course, the Nationals don't need Carrasco to be Roger Clemens. All they need is a reliable fourth starter, and, so far at least, Carrasco has given every indication that he can fill that role. If he does, the Nationals have found a low-cost answer to what has been a vexing problem in the second half of this season.