Detroit Tigers: Eduardo Rodriguez continues to earn his ace status
Before the series against the New York Mets, attention wasn’t on Eduardo Rodriguez, but rather on two former Detroit Tigers aces, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. As key components of the dominant Tigers’ rotations in the early 2010s, they were working to regain form, with Verlander making his first start in a Mets uniform.
However, Rodriguez went out on Thursday and continues to do what he has been doing all season along. Just dominate.
Detroit Tigers: Behind the numbers of Eduardo Rodriguez
Amid personal issues Eduardo Rodriguez faced last season, Detroit Tigers fans worried he would follow a recent trend of free agent pitchers struggling in the Old English D uniform. From Jordan Zimmermann to Mike Pelfrey, the Tigers felt, in some ways, they were cursed.
But this season, whether it’s the second year opt-out clause in his five-year $77 million contract that has him motivated or simply, this is the Eduardo Rodriguez the Tigers front office and fans expected to see.
So far this season, the Tigers have had five quality starts and Rodriguez has accounted for four of them.
First seven starts of the season with an ERA under 2.00 in recent Tigers' history:
— Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) May 5, 2023
2023: E. Rodriguez (1.81 ERA)
2021: Matthew Boyd (1.94)
2016: Zimmermann (1.50)
2014: Scherzer (1.40)
2013: Verlander (1.55) and Anibal Sanchez (1.97)
His last five starts have been one of the best spans by not only any Detroit starter but one of the best by any lefty.
| Rk | Gcar | Gtm | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | Inngs | Dec | DR | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | HBP | ERA | FIP | BF | Pit | Str | StL | StS | GB | FB | LD | PU | Unk | GSc | IR | IS | SB | CS | PO | AB | 2B | 3B | IBB | GDP | SF | ROE | aLI | WPA | acLI | cWPA | RE24 | DFS(DK) | DFS(FD) | Entered | Exited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 179 | 11 | Apr 12 | DET | @ | TOR | L,3-4 | GS-6 | 6 | 6.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 5.61 | 23 | 96 | 64 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.03 | 0.207 | .72 | 0.09% | 1.84 | 12.70 | 28.00 | 1b start tie | 6b 3 out tie | |||
| 4 | 180 | 16 | Apr 18(2) | DET | CLE | W,1-0 | GS-8 | W(1-2) | 5 | 8.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 4.03 | 27 | 99 | 72 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 84 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.38 | 0.548 | 1.24 | 0.30% | 3.63 | 39.60 | 64.00 | 1t start tie | 8t 3 out a1 | |||
| 5 | 181 | 20 | Apr 23 | DET | @ | BAL | L,1-2 | GS-7 | 4 | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2.32 | 3.49 | 22 | 95 | 65 | 18 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .86 | 0.437 | .65 | 0.20% | 3.38 | 27.15 | 43.00 | 1b start tie | 7b 3 out tie | |||
| 6 | 182 | 25 | Apr 29(1) | DET | BAL | W,7-4 | GS-6 | W(2-2) | 5 | 5.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2.21 | 3.72 | 22 | 98 | 62 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .70 | 0.104 | .51 | 0.05% | 1.16 | 21.15 | 35.00 | 1t start tie | 6t -23 2 out a4 | |||
| May | Tm | Opp | Rslt | Inngs | Dec | DR | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | HBP | ERA | FIP | BF | Pit | Str | StL | StS | GB | FB | LD | PU | Unk | GSc | IR | IS | SB | CS | PO | AB | 2B | 3B | IBB | GDP | SF | ROE | aLI | WPA | acLI | cWPA | RE24 | DFS(DK) | DFS(FD) | Entered | Exited | ||||
| 7 | 183 | 30 | May 4 | DET | NYM | W,2-0 | GS-8 | W(3-2) | 4 | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1.81 | 3.32 | 26 | 102 | 70 | 23 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 86 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .91 | 0.448 | .65 | 0.19% | 3.63 | 38.20 | 61.00 | 1t start tie | 8t 3 out a2 | |||
| 3-4 | W-L:3-2 | 4.8 | 44.2 | 27 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 1.81 | 3.32 | 163 | 673 | 66% | 18% | 10% | 0.73 | 22% | 9% | 0 | 65 | —% | 0 | 2 | 0 | 153 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .91 | 1.578 | .73 | 0.73% | 12.45 | 151.50 | 258.00 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/5/2023.
He has limited his hard-hit rate to just 27.6%, placing him in the 90th percentile in the league. His changeup, known for generating a high whiff rate, is playing off better due to increased swings and misses on both his cutter and four-seamer.
Eduardo’s cutter is exceptional, with a run value of minus-6, leading all of baseball, according to Baseball Savant. Teams are batting just .192 against the pitch.
Rodriguez is adding an element that Detroit has needed since JV and Max left, which is a starter who can deliver consistently every five days.
Bold predictions for every AL Central team in May. dark. Next