There were two distinct versions of Carlos Rodon to take the mound during the 2018 season.
During a nine-start stretch in July and August, Rodon looked like an ace with a 1.84 ERA backing up the optics. Then came September and a complete reversal of fortunes: a 9.22 ERA over his final six starts of the season.
So, coming into the 2019 campaign, the question was clear: Which version of Rodon would we see? And could we see the better one consistently enough to still talk about Rodon as a potential top-of-the-rotation pitcher when this team makes its planned transition from rebuilding to contending?
It's too early in the season to have an answer to that question yet. But we undoubtedly saw the "ace" version Wednesday in Cleveland. Rodon dominated the three-time defending AL Central champion Indians in the White Sox 8-3 win to wrap up their season-opening road trip.
After the White Sox hitters jumped all over Corey Kluber in the first inning, Rodon looked briefly destined for a similar fate, thanks in part to the continued poor performance of the White Sox defense. But after giving up back-to-back singles to the third and fourth batters he faced, Rodon yielded no more hits the rest of his six-inning outing.
The final numbers were stellar: one run on two hits and a walk to go along with nine strikeouts in six innings. An objectively excellent performance. The nine strikeouts surpassed his top single-game total from last season and were the most in a game for Rodon since he struck out nine Minnesota Twins on Aug. 21, 2017.
One start in early April will not write Rodon's future, not for the 2019 season or the remainder of his White Sox tenure. But for a rotation of the future with plenty of question marks — the inconsistent first full big league seasons from Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito in 2018, plus the far more concerning Tommy John surgeries for Michael Kopech and Dane Dunning — outings like these out of Rodon are huge.
MLB
The more times we see the "ace" version of Rodon, the brighter the White Sox starting staff of the present and, more importantly, future become.
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