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Continuing our overviews of potential White Sox draft picks ...
Who is Carlos Rodon?
He's a 6'2' left-handed pitcher for the N.C. State Wolfpack. His slider is sick nasty, and he can run his fastball up around 95-96 mph. After a stellar freshman campaign and leading his school to Omaha last year, a bit of the shine has worn off. There were concerns around the baseball world when he threw 134 pitches this April that he was being ridden too hard, and he finished with a 6-7 record this season. Rodon struck out 117 in 98.2 IP with a 2.01 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. College stats here.
How does he rank?
- Baseball America: No. 3
- Keith Law: No. 2
- Scout.com: No. 2
- MLB.com: No. 2
What's his game?
Big lefty with good fastball and a nasty slider, similar to what the Condor Chris Sale showed when he fell to the White Sox a few seasons ago. The similarities end there, as Carlos checks in at 234 lbs. He has a sort of straight up-and-down, stiff-looking delivery which may play into concerns about his inconsistent command. He sort of plants and torques instead of landing over the top of his front foot. He has a change up to go with the fastball and slider, but it's more of a show-me pitch.
What does he look like?
Why would the White Sox draft him?
He was lights-out as a freshman and probably would have been No. 1 overall in the draft two years ago, if it weren't his freshman season. As a sophomore he set a school record with 184 strikeouts, and he was mostly excellent this season. He is a 21-year-old lefty with a mid-90's fastball and a wipeout slider that sits in the upper 80's, which is probably the best secondary offering in the draft.
Why would the White Sox draft somebody else?
Scott Boras is his agent. Whether that's still a hangup, I don't know.
There are three to four excellent pitchers in this draft, depending on whom you talk to, and Rodon is the most polished college arm with the other two contenders for the top spot just finishing up high school. I would have him on the top of my board due to a severe bias against high school pitchers, so my thinking is the only way they take someone else is if he is already off the board.
Where's he going in mock drafts?
- Baseball America: No. 3 (White Sox)
- MLB: No. 3
- Scout.com: No. 1 (Astros)
- Keith Law: No. 2 (Marlins)