Chicago White Sox prospect Carlos Rodon makes Class A debut
Jun 8, 2013; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina State pitcher
Carlos Rodon(16) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Rice Owls in the Raleigh super regional of the 2013 NCAA baseball tournament at Doak Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
After being called up to the Class A Winston-Salem Dash on Wednesday, Carlos Rodon, the No. 3 overall pick in June’s MLB First-Year Player Draft, pitched one inning in his Class A debut.
Rodon, in his one inning of work in the eighth, allowed two earned runs on one hit, one wild pitch and two walks. The MiLB rookie had three strikeouts, including the first two batters he faced.
The left-handed Rodon had 33 pitches, 19 for strikes. One plus for Rodon’s outing was he battled out of a jam with two runners on the bases with two outs. The negative was before working out of the jam he did load the bases with a walk and allow two runs.
In two outings this month with the Arizona Rookie League White Sox, Rodon had a 6.00 ERA with five strikeouts. In the AZL he pitched a total of three innings.
Earlier this week, Rodon was tabbed as the new No. 1 prospect for the White Sox.
Here are some tweets from the Winston-Salem Dash during his outing on Wednesday afternoon:
Here is @CarlosRodon16 warming up moments ago here at BB&T Ballpark. pic.twitter.com/vs9HGA3g4u
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) July 30, 2014
Carlos Rodon whiffs the first 2 batters, with the second reaching on a WP. Listen: http://t.co/deF4QmuQCI Watch: http://t.co/wo6iHnwM3c
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) July 30, 2014
Then, a walk and a flyout to left for the Keys against Rodon. Two on, two down in the 8th. Dash leading 8-0. Rodon vs. Trey Mancini now.
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) July 30, 2014
After a walk loaded the bases, Chih-Hsien Chiang's two-run single makes it 8-2 Dash in the 8th. Carlos Rodon still out on the mound for W-S.
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) July 30, 2014
Rodon bounces back to strike out Jason Esposito to end the frame. It's 8-2 Dash, mid 8.
— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) July 30, 2014
As much as I want to see Rodon in a White Sox uniform as soon as possible, I don’t want them to rush him through the minors either.
Rodon will eventually be the player the White Sox need him to be, but it could take some time. In his MiLB career (4 total innings) Rodon does have seven total strikeouts.
When Rodon left the game on Wednesday the Dash held a lead of 8-2.
What I’m interested in seeing is when Rodon gets a chance to pitch more than a coupe innings in the minors, especially when he reaches Double A.
What are your thoughts on Rodon?