Yankees return Elmer Rodríguez to Triple-A

Rodríguez emerged as an excellent prospect last year and has been quite good in Triple-A this season, but his six major league starts have produced an 0-3 record, a 5.40 ERA and a 21/16 K/BB in 26 2/3 innings. He’ll likely head back to Triple-A after this one, though he might make a spot start or two in September.

Rodríguez looked like the top pitching prospect that scouts and evaluators have been raving about for the last few years when he looked extremely impressive against the Astros earlier this week. He struck out six and allowed three runs over six frames in his first big-league outing since late June. The 23-year-old top prospect draws an extremely favorable spot against the Angels in Los Angeles and represents a worthwhile streaming option in deeper mixed leagues. There’s some risk here given his struggles earlier this season, but his stuff looked noticeably improved and he missed plenty of bats in his return to the majors. He could potentially stick around for the final month of the season, which makes Rodríguez worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues for now.

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.

This was discussed yesterday and is now official. The 23-year-old doesn’t have major swing-and-miss stuff and has pitched to a 4.76 ERA over his four MLB starts. However, he has been much better in the minors and has recently increased his curveball usage in Triple-A, which is something to monitor in this outing. We would not be using him in fantasy leagues, however.

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.