If you have been following the New York Yankees this season, and particularly in the last few weeks, you know that the team currently has six healthy starters for five spots. Not every organization can brag about having that much talent available at this point of the year.
Of course, in a clubhouse with so many accomplished people, managing egos and hard decisions is not always easy. Yankees manager Aaron Boone has already had to tell two All-Star pitchers, Nestor Cortes last week and Marcus Stroman this week, that they had to be skipped one turn in order to accommodate everybody.
What should the Yankees do next? If everyone remains healthy in the upcoming days (injuries are always a possibility), they might need to skip another pitcher. Even if that isn’t the case, they will only use three starters in the first postseason series. What will they do?
Could Carlos Rodon be the next pitcher skipped?
Rodon’s case is a complicated one. The left-hander currently boasts a 4.15 ERA in 158.1 innings pitched, with 181 strikeouts. For stretches, he has looked thoroughly dominant: for example, he posted a 2.54 ERA in April and a 3.67 mark in May. The Yankees’ southpaw did have a tough stretch in June and July, which is why his ERA in his last 15 starts is a mediocre 5.40.
Rodon has been helping the Yankees a lot in September
However, despite some blips here and there, he boasts a 3.55 ERA in his last seven outings. He has improved over the last few games and accumulated two consecutive quality starts in September, with just three runs allowed in 12 frames and 20 strikeouts.
In other words, he is getting close to peak form and vintage Rodon. The Yankees would be smart not to mess too much with that, but everything is on the table. His contract and strikeout abilities make him likely to be a part of any playoff rotation, too.
Will Boone tell his $162-million man that he will be skipped in his next turn? Would it be a smart decision? You be the judge.