K machine Carlos Rodon looking like a fantasy ace
Drew Silva dives into Carlos Rodon's sensational first-half numbers for the Giants and why he should continue pitching like a fantasy ace.
Video Transcript
- The ship is sinking for the Giants, who have gone 3 and 7 so far in July and are 8 and 15 over their last 23 games dating back to the middle of June. But it's an absolute fact that they made one of the best signings of the offseason in bringing in Carlos Rodon for two years, $44 million. The 29-year-old left-hander matched his season high with 12 strikeouts over nine full innings of one-run ball on Saturday, July 9, against the Diamondbacks. It was just the 16th complete game thrown by any pitcher this year and the first for a Giants starter.
As it stands right now, Rodon is 8 and 5 with a 2.70 ERA, 1.06 whip, and 124 strikeouts through 100 innings. His K per nine of 11.2 is fifth best among all qualified starters, behind only Dylan Cease, Shane McClanahan, Corbin Burnes, and Gerrit Cole, all of them rating as true fantasy aces.
It's a safe bet that the Giants are not going to match last year's franchise record win total of 107, and they are highly doubtful to repeat as NL West champs. But if they do sneak into one of the three NL Wild Card spots, much of the credit will go to Rodon and his terrific four-seam fastball, nasty slider, and reworked curve. He's been a legitimate top-tier starter in San Francisco.
