The Carlos Rodon Resurgence

Yankees left-handed starting pitcher Carlos Rodón has been nothing short of exceptional to start off the 2024 MLB season. After a horrible 2023 season where Rodon had three losses compared with his eight losses and a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts, many Yankee fans were not fond of the two-time all-star. Signing a six-year, 162-million-dollar contract puts you in conversations with some of the best pitchers in the league, and Rodon was not that in 2023. However, he has bounced back very nicely this season and is looking like the pitcher the Yankees paid for. 

So far this season, through 11 starts, Rodon has put up a 6-2 record, a 2.95 ERA, and 8.4 K/9. He also has a 136 ERA+, which means that he’s 36% better than the average MLB pitcher this season. Compared with his abysmal 63 ERA+ in 2023, it’s safe to say Rodon is off to a lot better start this year. An improvement in Rodon’s game and a big reason he has improved so drastically this season is his fastball velocity. So far in 2024, his fastball is, on average, 95.3 miles per hour. This is a few ticks up from his velocity in 2023, and right about on par with his elite seasons with the White Sox and Giants. A major reason his fastball velocity and overall performance were down in 2023 can be linked to injuries. Rodon was out until July with an arm injury, followed by another injured list visit in August. It can be easily inferred that Rodon wasn’t completely healthy last season. He appears to be back to form.

Rodon is a member of one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball and has been a key piece of the Yankees’ early success so far. The performance of Rodon is under the spotlight not only due to his contract but because of an injury to ace Gerrit Cole as well. He is reportedly starting a throwing program now. As the second pitcher on a big contract, Rodon has had a lot of pressure on him this season and has responded very well.