BRONX, NY – Manager Aaron Boone called Carlos Rodon’s fastball and slider his “bread-and-butter” pitches, but that doesn’t mean that secondary or even tertiary pitches are off the
table.
The southpaw’s fastball and slider have been a staple in his toolbox since 2022 when he dominated with the San Francisco Giants. His slider is his most successful putaway pitch, picking up 26.3% of all whiffs and being the cause of 23.1% of strikeouts, per Baseball Savant.
In 2024, Rodon has frequently employed the cutter, making it the third-most used pitch in his arsenal. It takes some pressure off the fastball while still being lethal as it makes its way to the plate at 91 mph.
That deployment was on full display on Tuesday night when he posted six innings of shutout ball while allowing four hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
“Mixing up the arsenal, having a presence with the changeup and the cutter, the cutter got him a big double-play ball in the fifth [inning] when he got into a little bit of trouble,” Boone said. “I like the pitch for him, it gets you off the heater for a little bit and puts him in position to get some groundballs.”
“[The cutter] gets me off the fastball, hit some weak contact, gets some balls on the ground,” Rodón said. “I haven’t really had a ‘groundball pitch’ in the last few years so it’s nice to have that.”
Something that isn’t as quantifiable as the types of pitches, the speed, or rotations per minute, is the confidence that is beginning to radiate from Rodón.
“A step in the right direction,” he said. “Just keep going. Confidence is growing, for sure. I’m just gonna go out there and compete and try to win games for this club.”
