Carlos Rodón Making Case for Bigger Postseason Role

On paper, the New York Yankees rotation is set. Cam Schlittler earned his role as the Game 1 starter and AL Cy Young frontrunner, and right behind him is Gerrit Cole, the longtime ace with a wealth of postseason experience. Where things get a little tricky is who comes out for that pivotal swing game, which is Game 3: Carlos Rodón or Max Fried.

If the Yankees were in a healthier position, that question would be easy to answer. It's Max Fried. The issue is that both starters seem to be going in different directions.

In eight starts, Fried looks like he could be regressing. In his most recent start, he pitched 3.1 innings, struggling to get through at-bats against a bad Rockies team. It does feel like he should be at his 100-pitch count already, but his laboring and a decrease in velocity in that start were his biggest red flags. He did strike out seven, and allow one earned run, but his stuff just looked off.

Fried saw a drop in velocity across the board on his cutter, sinker, curveball, sweeper, changeup, and fastball. He saw 2 MPH dips on the sweeper and curve, as well as a 1.2 MPH drop on his fastball.

New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) hands the ball to manager Aaron Boone (17) after being pulled in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rodón is trending upward

Rodón, on the other hand, pitched his best game against the Mets on an emotional night in New York. He threw 6.1 innings with one earned run and eight strikeouts against a Mets team that has rebounded after the deadline. Against Juan Soto and a solid youthful core in A.J. Ewing, Carson Benge, and Francisco Alvarez, he struck out eight, walked just one batter, allowed one earned run, and gave up just three hits. The red flag for his start was six hard-hit balls.

Rodón's velocity was stable, too. He saw a small uptick in fastball velocity, up 0.3 MPH.

Basing the entire trajectory of a postseason rotation on two starts against sub-.500 teams isn't something teams should do, but what happened is worth monitoring in the future. That is especially true if Fried's velocity continues to dip, or stays around where it was against Colorado, without increasing over the next few weeks.

At that point, it would be fair to wonder if Fried could be a liability in October, with Rodón being the better option to be that third starter. The Yankees would probably prefer Fried in that role, but at that point, they should also consider playing the hot hand. If Rodón continues to pitch well and Fried struggles, their performances will answer the question of who should be the third starter in October.

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