Elmer Rodríguez will start on Wednesday

Rodríguez looked the part in his return to the Yankees’ rotation. He came out blazing 99 mph sinkers early and they held firm at 97, about two ticks higher than his average velocity in the majors this season. His curveball had a few extra inches of depth too and was wicked below the zone forcing six swings-and-misses plus a good bit of soft contact. Those two pitches were enough to get through the Astros’ lineup twice as Rodríguez spent most of this start in complete control. While his Triple-A workload lets us know he’ll be limited to around 90 pitches per outing, Rodríguez could be a valuable asset down the stretch if he sticks in the Yankees’ rotation. Max Fried is potentially due back for a double-header this weekend though, so he may only have one more turn to prove his worth.

Rodríguez draws the starting assignment for Wednesday’s game against the Astros. It’ll likely be a one-and-done spot start for the 23-year-old prospect with veteran Max Fried expected back from the injured list later this week. He’s not a recommended option for fantasy purposes given his pedestrian strikeout rate and struggles in a handful of big-league outings earlier this year.

Boone wouldn’t make it official, but all signs point to Rodríguez replacing an injured Ryan Weathers (forearm) in New York’s rotation, at least for one turn this week. The 23-year-old has struggled in a handful of opportunities at the highest level this season, but he remains one of the organization’s best starting pitching prospects. He can be safely ignored in all fantasy formats for now.

Rodríguez also struck out three but walked four while throwing just 42 of his 77 pitches for strikes. The 22-year-old has had a solid season at Triple-A with a 3.03 ERA in 71 1/3 innings, but he also has a 1.30 WHIP and just 70 strikeouts to 38 walks. Given his struggles in his few MLB starts, there is some reason to believe that Rodríguez has the ceiling of a back-of-the-rotation arm in the big leagues who will never have tons of strikeout upside. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Yankees try to add him into a trade package to acquire an impact MLB player for their stretch run.

Rodriguez has a chance to be a multi-inning option for a bullpen game against the Dodgers. The 22-year-old will likely be sent right back down to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre regardless if he pitches during that contest or not.

Rodríguez surrendered three runs over four-plus innings Sunday in his spot start against the Reds. The Yankees figure to add a reliever, perhaps Yerry de los Santos, in his place on Monday.

Tyler Stephenson plated all three runs with his homer in the third. Rodríguez struck out four and walked two, with one of those free passes coming prior to the homer. He’s 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in his first starts for the Yankees this season. He’ll return to Triple-A now, which would have been the case regardless of how he performed today.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone downplayed any concern regarding Gerrit Cole’s health earlier this weekend, stating that they merely want to give everyone in the rotation an extra day of rest. The 35-year-old veteran will get the ball for Monday’s series opener against Detroit with Rodríguez making a spot start against the Reds on Sunday afternoon. The 22-year-old top prospect’s raw numbers illustrate the significant gap between Triple-A and the majors, as he’s posted an inflated 4.15 ERA across 13 innings at the highest level while turning in a strong 3.00 ERA over 51 innings on the doorstep this season. He has a bright future ahead of him, but Rodríguez isn’t an appealing streaming option in a one-and-done spot spot start before heading back to Triple-A.

Jake Bird is being sent down. The Yankees are in the midst of a long stretch without a day off, so they wanted to give their starters some extra rest. Cole will now face the Tigers in Detroit, rather than the Reds at home. It also sets up Cam Schlittler to pitch Thursday in Boston, rather than Wednesday in Detroit.

Rodríguez can’t be recalled in the next 15 days unless he replaces an injured player, so that appears to take him out of the running to start this weekend. What the Yankees will do in that spot remains to be seen since they have said Gerrit Cole (elbow) will make one more rehab start.