Yeah, I’ve read more “defenses” of Carrot’s chances than you’ve written and have never seen anything more substantial than “She’s hung around long enough to merit doing something big,” which really only applied before Yamato’s introduction. She’s NOT a great fighter; all she did in Sulong during WCI was rip some ships apart, and in case you didn’t notice, Perospero made extremely short work of her AND Wanda a few chapters ago (her last appearance to date) because they’re totally ineffective without seeing the moon, so I reject that premise out of hand. Nami also uses electricity, and according to others of your ilk, we can’t have overlapping powers on the crew (*squints in two swordsmen before Franky whipped one out this arc*). Yamato and every single other character of note in OP is also brave, it’s hilarious to see you use that as somehow specific to the rabbit. “Incredible leaping abilities” doesn’t deserve any further mention than this, just as meaningless as saying “She’s a lookout” because she can see. Yamato also has the curiosity and desire to sail the world, y’all also love using this as a point for Carrot but not the obvious choice. Once again, Yamato’s also Kaido’s daughter so not strictly human AND has a DF transformation of another species. Can’t wait to hear your response to this one, I’m sure you have more reasons that haven’t been run into the ground and routinely disproven!!
But Carrot helped the crew escape via the mirror world alongside Chopper after outsmarting Brulee and her minions. And yes, she is an incredible fighter when she fought off Big Mom's crew and the Beast Pirates that invaded her home, even though she's only 15, which makes that yet another reason why she has so much to explore the world for. Also, Perosoero didn't make extremely short work of her as he admitted that if it weren't for her Su Long form, she would have taken him down. And mind you this, Su Long can also make a mink incredibly exhausted, which is another thing that contributed to her "quick" downfall. That means she still has time to improve that too like we've seen the other characters improve their abilities over time. And yes, her leaping abilities makes a lot of sense for her potential position as a lookout for the crew.
And because many have predicted the Straw Hats for bringing the New Dawn to the world and Pedro's wish to have Carrot accompany them to that point, gives her stay with the crew even more merit.