White Sox: Carlos Rodon Struggling to Start 2017 Campaign
White Sox starter Carlos Rodon hasn’t had a good start to his season. The left-hander unable to last four innings in previous start against Dodgers.
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Carlos Rodon missed nearly half of this season with a biceps injury. After making his season debut on June 28 against the New York Yankees, it appears Rodon still has work to do in order to return the dominant pitcher he was to end his 2016 campaign.
Through four starts so far, Rodon is 1-3 with a 5.75 ERA. In his last start on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Rodon gave up four home runs and lasted just 3.2 innings. The 2014 first round draft pick hasn’t pitched more than 6.1 innings in any of his four starts this season.
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Rodon’s longest start came in his second outing of the season on July 3 against the Oakland Atheltics. In that start, Rodon pitched 6.1 innings with three walks and 10 strikeouts. This was Rodon’s best start of his 2017 campaign, but his other three starts have been rather poor.
With Rodon only pitching once during Spring Training this year, it appears he’s still trying to find his groove to start his season. Although Rodon was out with an injury for most of the first half, his inability to find consistency early on the mound has to be discouraging. The White Sox don’t have many solid starters currently as they traded their ace across town to the Cubs last week.
As the White Sox are amid a rebuilding process, they need better results from Rodon moving forward. Rodon could be a future ace of this team, but he’s not pitching better than a fourth or fifth starter right now. The White Sox will be looking for better production on the mound in Rodon’s third season as a starter.
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Not all is lost with Rodon however, but he can’t keep having poor outings for the White Sox this season. Rodon has given up five home runs through four starts thus far, and he only gave up two home runs last season through his first four outings. Rodon could very well improve as this season goes on, but if he can’t pitch better for the White Sox, expect the South Siders to focus on starting pitching heavily in the 2018 MLB Draft.