Chicago White Sox: Carlos Rodon’s grade shows why he’s gone
Carlos Rodoon wasn’t that good in 2020 for the Chicago White Sox.
The Chicago White Sox selected a young pitcher named Carlos Rodon with the third overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft out of North Carolina State University. They believed he was going to be one of the top pitchers in the organization but things didn’t necessarily turn out the way that they thought. When he made his MLB debut, he was one of the guys pitching behind Chris Sale and Jose Quintana and learned well from them.
The problem is that once those guys were gone, he wasn’t able to take that next step. Instead, he was always hurt and when he was there he wasn’t very good. 2020 was the last straw for Rodon with the organization as he didn’t have much success. He was coming back from Tommy John surgery the year before and wasn’t showing any progression when he came back. Even after the big surgery, he got himself hurt again with another issue.
He made two starts and had four total appearances. He had an 0-2 record and a -0.4 WAR. His ERA was 8,22 and he had a WHIP of 1.565 so he clearly didn’t have that good of a season. It was a disaster for him personally while the team around him played very well.
It wasn’t fun to watch Rodon have a season like this because he really is a guy that is easy to root for. He was a high draft pick that the White Sox developed all the way to the big leagues. He even looked good in a lot of his MLB starts early on but the injuries started to really derail him. It just seems like 2020 was rock bottom for him as a starter trying to get his career back on track.
Final Grade: F
You can’t give a player with expectations that Rodon had a higher grade than an F if they hardly played and was a negative WAR player. It is sad to give a player you considered a pleasure to watch a failing grade like this but fair is fair.
Hot. James McCann needs to be back for the White Sox. light
2021 outlook:
The White Sox actually announced on Wednesday that they non-tendered Carlos Rodon. He isn’t going to be back with the team in 2021 after all these years. It feels like a “what if” story in regards to his injuries but it is what it is. There are going to be other teams looking to add him this winter and take a chance. Hopefully, he is able to find another home and have the success that we thought he would with the White Sox. He is one of those guys that you wish the best for regardless of where he plays.