Everything you need to know about White Sox pitching phenom Carlos Rodon
Meet White Sox pitching phenom Carlos Rodon
With all of the brouhaha surrounding the highly anticipated Major League debut of Kris Bryant, many of baseball's other exciting prospects might have gotten lost in the shuffle last week.
In an effort to get back to the hype, we put 10 talented prospects on your radar, and one of them is set to make his MLB debut with the White Sox sometime this week. Ladies and gentlemen, meet pitcher Carlos Rodon:
The first thing you should know about him is that he's got a nasty slider.
Rodon was drafted by the Brewers in 2011, but opted to go to NC State.
And it's hard to knock that choice when you look at his stats as a freshman:
- 1.57 ERA
- 135 strikeouts and 43 walks over 117 innings
- Only freshman to be named ACC's Pitcher of the Year
Did we mention he's got an amazing slider?
Also, he's got wonderful taste in music. He even offered a few bars of Taylor Swift karaoke ahead of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft.
At 2015 Spring Training, Rodon posted impresive numbers: 2-0 with a 3.06 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 17 2/3 innings.
The White Sox sent him to Triple-A to start the season, asking that he work on getting his changeup Major League ready. Rodon responded by striking out nine batters over six innings in his first start for the Charlotte Knights.
Probably because of that incredible slider.
In case you're not impressed yet, scouts have compared him to David Price.
Oh, and did we mention that he's been billed as a top-of-the-rotation starter and has been pitching as one at Spring Training and in the Minors? Sure, he'll start his career in the bullpen, but the last White Sox pitcher to go through such a progression was some guy named Chris Sale.
Outside of baseball, Rodon enjoys life's finer things ... like visiting the aquarium and posing for pictures that end up on the Internet accompanied by the obligatory fish emojis.
He's also got incredible fashion sense.
Happy Birthday to our friend and the weirdest prospect in baseball @CarlosRodon16 pic.twitter.com/7llZqghmRM
- Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) December 10, 2014Which pairs well with ... HIS NASTY SLIDER.
Ok, that's it. Last one. We're done. We promise. Ok, fine. One more, if you insist.
Rodon joined the White Sox on Monday and should make his MLB debut shortly thereafter. But no, we're not excited or anything.