Physically, a slimmer Carlos Rodon looks differently this season. With a deeper repertoire, Rodon is pitching differently and no longer so reliant upon his fastball and slider. In his second season in pinstripes after a nightmare first, Rodon feels differently, too.
“I sit down in the dugout now and I look around, and I feel pretty comfortable sitting in this stadium,” the lefty said after his third straight quality start helped the Yankees beat the White Sox, 7-2, in The Bronx on Sunday. “I thought about that the first month here in April ..
. sitting down and looking around. This doesn’t feel overwhelming anymore.
This feels like home.” A lot has changed after an injury- and underperformance-filled 2023 season for Rodon, who is more healthy, comfortable and successful in the early going of this season in part because he has plenty more pitches to choose from. Rodon let up just two runs on four hits and two walks in six innings in which he struck out six.
The 23 swing-and-misses he induced were his most since July 9, 2022, when he pitched a complete-game, three-hitter in a Giants win over the Padres and threw heater after heater and slider after slider. Two years ago, Rodon was a dominant pitcher on his way to securing a $162 million pact with the Yankees. Two years later, Rodon is dominating again but in a different way.
He used his fastball and slider most often Sunday, but his improving changeup was his most effective pitch. Chicago batters swung at it nine times.