Carlos Rodon Feels Ready After Strong Second Outing

Bridgewater, New Jersey – Yankees southpaw Carlos Rodon checked another big box on his rehab journey back to the Bronx after firing four shutout innings against New Hampshire in his second start of the week for Somerset on Sunday afternoon at TD Bank Ballpark.

After tossing 42 pitches over three innings against the Fisher Cats on Tuesday night in his first live action since March 5, the two-time MLB All-Star was extremely efficient in managing his pitch count Sunday, something he had said would be a point of emphasis for him this time out. Rodon mixed in his full repertoire economically, tossing 48 pitches, 36 of them for strikes on Sunday.

This Carlos Rodon guy is pretty good🤷‍♂️

4️⃣ IP | 0️⃣ R | 1️⃣ H | 4️⃣ K pic.twitter.com/eA4J1y1YTI

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 25, 2023

“It was good,” said Rodon. “Hit the pitch count – well, a little under, but still got 50 in. Had to go down and throw two more. Got up and down four times and mixed in a little bit of everything, so it was good.”

Rodon added, “I was just kind of trying to deploy all of the pitches and be in the zone with them and just work with pitch shape.”

New Hampshire leadoff hitter Leo Jiminez worked a lengthy at-bat against Rodon in the first, forcing him into an eight-pitch battle before the lefty was able to strike him out. New Hampshire forced Rodon to throw 18 pitches in the inning after throwing 19 in the opening frame his first time out.

“It was a little bit better, but the first batter had a good at-bat,” said Rodon. “He saw seven or eight pitches; fouled some balls off that I threw that were in the zone. They made me throw 18 in the first then I really kind of honed in on getting ahead there the next three frames.”

After Rodon retired the side in the first, a quick rain shower ran through the Bridgewater area that forced the grounds crew and staff to roll out the tarp and send the game into a rain delay in the bottom of the frame. A long down period is typically not good for a pitcher, especially one on a rehab assignment. Luckily for both Rodon and the Yankees, the delay lasted just fifteen minutes before action resumed.

“In the first, I ran a little bit hot,” explained Rodon. “I was a little heavy with the heater a little harder and then I kind of backed off, especially after that longer inning with the rain and stuff. I knew I had to gradually build up there.”

After allowing a leadoff double in the second to first baseman Rainer Nunez that nearly left the yard, Rodon settled in and seemingly went on cruise control the rest of the way. The 30-year-old North Carolina State-product retired nine straight batters and admitted that he certainly had more left in the tank to go deeper, but understands he needs to stick to the game plan to avoid any potential setbacks.

“Obviously just trying to stay under control,” explained Rodon. “Just kind of work on breaking balls early in the count that last inning and just started working on a couple of things. It was nice to have the results.”

Rodon allowed just a double to Nunez and struck out four over his four innings of work. His velocity sat regularly around 92-93 MPH, much like his previous start on Tuesday, and hit as high as 94 several times on the stadium radar reading.

“Today was really good,” said Rodon. “That was pretty close to normal – I have a feeling when I step on the mound in a big-league stadium that it will be plus two, or three on the velo and I’ll have to kind of contain myself. Today I was trying to contain myself and just kind of stick in the zone with heaters. “

After two rehab starts, Rodon has now tossed seven innings on 90 pitches - allowing just one earned run on two hits while walking one and striking out nine.

As for what’s next? Yankees manager Aaron Boone has said the organization expects Rodon to make three rehab starts before being ready for his first big league action in pinstripes. A potential final rehab outing would be tabbed for next Friday. Where will that be? Rodon says that is something he is hoping to have ironed out soon.

“I feel ready,” admitted Rodon. “That’s kind of a decision that we have to speak about and where I fall in the rotation.”

Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Beat Writer

Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 11th season on the beat covering the Patriots for SomersetPatriots.com. Throughout his career, Matt has contributed to MLB.com, YES Network and Pinstriped Prospects. When he’s not at the ballpark, Matt enjoys traveling with his wife Kimberly, watching Jets football and collecting sports cards.