:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56237149/833183542.0.jpg)
Not starting his 2017 season until June 28th, Carlos Rodon has reached his midseason point after last night's start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. With nine starts on hand and projected for eight more starts to end the season, Rodon's performance is getting noticeably steadier. A much-needed sigh of relief for those that got quite nervous how Rodon's season began.
Since his July 25th start against the Chicago Cubs where 11 of the 12 outs Rodon recorded were strikeouts, we've seen a pitcher make the necessary adjustments to get deeper into games. Which is a blessing considering how bad the White Sox bullpen is.
Carlos Rodon’s last four starts
| Date | Opponent | Innings | Hits | Runs | ER | Walks | Strikeouts | HR | Pitches | Strikes | Game Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Innings | Hits | Runs | ER | Walks | Strikeouts | HR | Pitches | Strikes | Game Score |
| Jul 30 | CLE | 6.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 110 | 69 | 65 |
| Aug 4 | BOS | 7.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 113 | 73 | 70 |
| Aug 10 | HOU | 8.0 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 98 | 70 | 60 |
| Aug 16 | LAD | 7.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 104 | 62 | 60 |
Consider the opponents faced during that stretch. Rodon is keeping the American League's worst team competitive deep into games against four of the league’s best teams. Even fans who want the team to tank every game can appreciate that effort.
Stepping back to look at Rodon's career numbers and there is most definitely a trend developing. Maybe the last four starts are the result of Rodon making necessary adjustments, or it's that time of year again.
Carlos Rodon’s career splits by month
| Split | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Split | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | WHIP |
| April/March | 1 | 3 | 4.45 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 30.1 | 29 | 17 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 29 | 1.42 |
| May | 2 | 1 | 3.72 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 55.2 | 65 | 26 | 23 | 6 | 26 | 50 | 1.64 |
| June | 2 | 4 | 4.11 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 61.1 | 65 | 31 | 28 | 7 | 27 | 66 | 1.50 |
| July | 2 | 8 | 6.68 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 62 | 75 | 48 | 46 | 14 | 35 | 80 | 1.77 |
| August | 5 | 1 | 2.08 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 86.1 | 67 | 23 | 20 | 8 | 24 | 77 | 1.05 |
| Sept/Oct | 7 | 3 | 3.45 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 62.2 | 56 | 27 | 24 | 6 | 23 | 64 | 1.26 |
The difference between July and August is astounding. Even Rodon's performances in September have been quite good. For whatever reason, a switch flips on after the Trade Deadline, and Rodon goes from being a question mark to future staff ace. Which is encouraging, but also a bit teasing. He’s either sputtered out of the gate or didn’t pitch at all in the past two season’s first halves.
This recent stretch the past couple of weeks suggest another strong finish to this season for Rodon. Despite missing half of the year, Rodon has an outside chance of reaching the 2.0 bWAR mark for the first time in his young career. If only somehow the White Sox can learn how to bottle this type of success to use year round. Would go a great way to instill more hope that brighter days are ahead on the South Side.