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Carlos Rodon is an also-ran of sorts as part of an amazing lefty trio for the Chicago White Sox -- how did they only win 78 games? -- but he pitched like a legitimate ace in the second half.
After sporting a 4.50 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and unsightly 1.53 WHIP in the first half, he buckled down after the break with a 3.45 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 9.5 K/9 mark. He held opponents to just a .698 OPS after the break (.812 before), and brought his strikeout-to-walk rate (K/BB) from a respectable 2.8 in the first half to 3.5 in the second.
In short, pretty much everything he does is trending in the right direction. After a rough July, Rodon was especially good from August 1st on, posting a 3.11 ERA, .665 OPS against, 70 punch outs and 20 walks in 66 2/3 innings.
Each of his pitches was more difficult to hit after the All-Star break. Take a look at the swinging-strike rate for each of his offerings in the first half and second half.
| First Half | Second Half | |
|---|---|---|
| Four-seam fastball | 6.5% | 8.3% |
| Sinker | 5.8% | 6.3% |
| Changeup | 9.9% | 13.7% |
| Slider | 18.6% | 21.4% |
There’s little wonder the slider was a big pitch for Rodon down the stretch; that was his calling card at North Carolina State heading into the draft. Like Gray, he appears ready to justify his selection at No. 3 overall .