Chicago White Sox: Carlos Rodon extends impressive run

In less than a year since his MLB debut, Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Carlos Rodon has made big strides.

23-year-old Chicago White Sox starter Carlos Rodon is enjoying a great beginning to the 2016 season. In two outings he has tossed 13 innings, allowing just two earned runs (1.38 ERA) on 10 hits while striking out 12.

Close observers will know that the young hurler’s recent success extends a bit further back, however. Rodon has posted 10 consecutive quality starts stretching to last season. In that span, he has produced the following impressive numbers, courtesy of Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s statistics coordinator Christopher Kamka:

At the risk of jumping the gun, that looks a lot like a talented pitcher turning the corner in his young MLB career. It wouldn’t exactly be an unexpected breakthrough either. Rodon was the most coveted pitching prospect in the White Sox farm system when he made his big league debut nearly a year ago in late April 2015.

The left-hander certainly didn’t get off to a picture-perfect start. His first three appearances actually came out of the bullpen before he was moved to the rotation. There he struggled to find his footing, and on August 5, after a total of 18 major league outings, he owned a bloated 5.00 ERA.

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It was at that point, however, that something appeared to click for Rodon and he started on the remarkable run that he’s still riding right now. The White Sox are witnessing what they saw when they drafted him third overall in 2014, and all things considered, perhaps a bit sooner than they imagined.

Rodon strikes an imposing figure on the mound. Listed at 6’3″ and 235 pounds, he looks more like a linebacker than a major league pitcher. But that sturdy, powerful frame helps him throw some legitimate heat. Last year his fastball averaged 93.6 mph and topped out at 98.5 on the radar gun, as per Fangraphs PitchF/X.

His high strikeout ability comes in handy, as Rodon is still working through some control issues. In his 13 frames of work this season he has already walked six batters, five of which came in six innings last night against the Minnesota Twins. Rodon didn’t let those free passes come back to bite him, though, as he surrendered only three hits and fanned six to ensure a scoreless evening.

The White Sox, for whom the season started with a degree of off-the-field controversy, have to be quite satisfied with the first week and a half of their campaign. They are keeping pace with the defending champion Kansas City Royals in the AL Central, thanks in no small part to a rotation that is proving to be more than just perennial Cy Young contender Chris Sale.

Jose Quintana, who quietly sports a 3.45 career ERA in his four-plus seasons, is also looking good in the early going, having given up just three runs in 11.2 innings (2.31 ERA) so far. If Rodon is truly taking the next step in becoming one of the AL’s better hurlers, that would give the Sox a pretty formidable top three in their rotation – and all lefties under the age of 30.

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Rodon will need to work on handing out fewer walks and going deeper into games more consistently, but for a pitcher who won’t turn 24 until next December, you have to admire his progress in only a year’s time.