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Carlos Rodón has gotten off to a tremendous start this season.

Note:

• League-average WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is around 1.24; anything LOWER is good anything HIGHER is not good
• League-average ERA (earned run average) is around 3.77; anything below is GREAT anything above is NOT great

Former UFC Welterweight champion and professional mixed martial artist Tyron Woodley once said, “[i]f the risk is high, the reward is high… Why not roll the dice?” This same thought process certainly crossed the San Francisco Giants’ front office as they decided to “roll the dice” and sign Carlos Rodón to a 2-year, $44 million dollar contract in the offseason. While many teams were reluctant to sign Rodón over the offseason due to his past injury concerns, the Giants were eager to add the 29-year-old starting pitcher after his electrifying season in 2021. 

Carlos Rodón picked up right where he left off last season, pitching his way to a stellar 1.80 ERA and 0.91 WHIP while holding opposing batters to a mere .165 BA and .459 OPS. Furthermore, Rodón leads the whole league with 53 strikeouts propelling him to a strikeout percentage of 39.3%. On the season, Rodón has not surrendered a single home run in 35 innings pitched. This is partially due to the fact that he pounds the strike zone on first pitches, with a first-pitch strike % of 60%.  Studies show that when a pitcher throws a first-pitch strike, there is a 92.7% that the at-bat will lead to an out after.

Breaking down Rodón’s pitch arsenal this season – he throws a 4-seam fastball (64.3% of the time), slider (29.7% of the time), and curveball (6% of the time). Compared to last season, Rodón’s fastball has risen in velocity 0.9 mph from 95.6 mph to 96.3 mph. To add on, Rodón’s out-of-zone swing % has also gone up 3.8%, from 30.5% to 34.3%. This allows Rodón to throw more pitches out of the zone, banking on the fact that the opposing hitters will “chase” the pitch. These offseason adjustments have allowed Rodón to command a stellar ERA, WHIP, and opponent batting average while leading the Giants to more wins. 

Before the Giants signed Rodón, there were some legitimate concerns about his ability to stay healthy over the duration of the season. This was because, in the 2019 season, he only pitched in 7 games, and in the 2020 season, he only pitched in 4 games before stopping due to injury. However, in 2021, Rodón pitched the best season of his career, earning his first all-star appearance while on the Chicago White Sox and throwing his first career no-hitter.  

One specific stat that should be focused on with Carlos Rodón is his ability to strike out batters. Not only does Rodón lead the league in total strikeouts, but he also leads the league in K/9 (strikeouts per 9 innings pitched) at 13.6. In 5 of 6 games pitched this season, Rodón has struck out at least 8+ batters in each of those appearances. Carlos Rodón is a strikeout machine and shows no signs of slowing down. 

San Francisco Giants fans and the front office should be more than pleased with the successful signing of Carlos Rodón. Throughout the season, Rodón should continue to dominate batters by way of strikeouts, and hopefully, Rodón will continue to stay healthy throughout the season. The high-risk, high-reward strategy has definitely worked in favor of the Giants. Once again, another successful signing by Farhan Zaidi.

Matthew Suh is the founder of Fresh Coast Sports as well as a staff writer for Fresh Coast Sports, Talking Points Sports, and The Press Box. While Matthew covers all sports including the NFL, NBA, and MLB he tends to focus on writing about the MLB. Questions about the MLB or baseball? Follow or DM Matthew on Twitter @matthewsuh for inquiries!