Eduardo Rodriguez was one of the lone bright spots for the Boston Red Sox last season. The team's disastrous start to 2015 kept them out of the playoff race, but the rookie left-hander provided some hope for the future of the Sox' starting rotation. Will he take the next step in his second MLB season?
Rodriguez, 22, went 10-6 with a 3.85 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 98 strikeouts in 21 starts (121-2/3 innings) in his debut campaign and was among one of the best young starters in the MLB last year. The Red Sox, before signing David Price, felt Rodriguez could eventually become the ace of the pitching staff.
That sentiment is still alive and well, especially in Price's eyes. The Cy Young winner had some flattering things to say about the youngster earlier this week.
"He's got a very bright future," Price told Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald.
"He's much further along than I was when I was his age. I didn't throw changeups then. Everything was fastball-slider. He's trying to mix in a couple different things, give a couple different looks with a slider and a cutter. I think he's further advanced than I was."
Rodriguez has four pitches: a four-seam fastball, a cut fastball, a changeup and a slider. He was overall effective in throwing each of those last season, although opponents had a .263 batting average and .706 OPS against his four-seamer and a .350 average and 1.006 OPS against his slider, according to FanGraphs. However, the velocity on his fastball, if he can keep it at 94 mph, is promising, as is the movement on his slider, especially at his age.
The youngster obviously has some things to work on, but after facing a number of the MLB's top offenses last season he now has formidable experience under his belt and a lot of film to watch, which will help him improve his weaknesses.
"Rodriguez has ace potential, and he couldn't have a better mentor than the newly acquired David Price, who has a long history of helping to develop and mentor young pitchers, especially in his years in Tampa Bay. Rodriguez has fantastic raw stuff -- overpowering fastball, above-average changeup, decent slider and improving cutter -- and the intelligence to get the most of his repertoire. When his command and control become more precise, watch out," writes ESPN's Jim Bowden.
The left-hander's MLB sample size is also very small, so his successes and failures should be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, his 3.85 ERA against teams such as the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers and others is, without a doubt, impressive for a rookie. Then again, teams didn't have much film or detailed scouting reports on Rodriguez considering he was a newcomer to the MLB.
As for his shortcomings, he's probably had a lot of help with locating his pitches this offseason. Those previous numbers against his fastball and slider are a bit alarming, but with Price as a mentor and new pitching coach Carl Willis likely settled in after taking over for Juan Nieves in May, Rodriguez has a wealth of information, guidance and advice at his fingertips.
There are many arguments for and against Rodriguez taking the next step in 2016. However, it could be safest to assume Rodriguez is only going to get better based on his initial success and the resources he now possesses in order to tweak his shortcomings and inconsistencies.
FanGraphs' steamer projections have Rodrigez going 9-8 with a 3.81 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 113 strikeouts in 24 starts (139 innings).
