Carlos Rodon, Chicago White Sox
Career Strikeout Rate: 22.6%
2018 Strikeout Rate: 17.6%
2019 Strikeout Rate (so far): 29.4%
It’s taken just 28 innings for Rodon to accumulate 1.0 fWAR, which is already more than the 0.8 fWAR he produced in 120.2 innings last season. Despite debuting in 2015, he’s only had one season with at least 25 starts. So the White Sox are hoping he can both sustain this strong start while also staying healthy.
Outside of the huge spike in strikeout rate, there isn’t much different when looking at Rodon’s profile — hitters have produced similar percentages of both batted balls and quality of contact, and they’re walking at nearly the same clip.
He has continued to rely less on his fastball and more on his slider, though. Rodon threw his fastball at a career-high 63.7% clip in ’16, and that number has dropped each year since to its current 51.3% mark. His changeup usage has also gone down a notch (14.0% in ’18 to 9.6% so far in ’19), and everything has gone toward that slider.
After tossing it at a 26.1% clip in ’18, he’s been using it at a 39.1% rate this year, which is the fifth-highest in baseball. The results of this offering are off the charts, too: 0.0% walk rate, 51.0% strikeout rate, .104/.102/.104 triple slash, and a -41 wRC+.
An interesting wrinkle here, though, is that virtually all of Rodon’s workload (and success) has come on the road. He’s thrown 4.2 innings at home, which has led to a 7.71 ERA and .413 wOBA against. In 23.1 road innings, he owns a 1.93 ERA and .188 wOBA against.
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