Entering his fifth season for the Boston Red Sox, it’s time for Eduardo Rodriguez to unleash his full potential on the world.
To be elite. A dream of many and obtained by very few. Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez of the Boston Red Sox has a chance to be among the elite pitchers in the American League in 2019.
A full season and continued improvement could very well elevate Rodriguez into that upper echelon of starting pitchers.
In 2018, Rodriguez enjoyed a breakout season. Showing improved command and a nice strikeout rate, Rodriguez earned his full-time role in the rotation. He repaid the Red Sox by steamrolling through opponents the first half of the season.
Rodriguez started of 9-1 in 2018, lost his next two starts, but bounced back nicely in the starts after. On July 14 and a record of 11-3, Rodriguez found himself on the injured list thanks to an ankle injury.
Roughly six weeks later, Rodriguez was back on the hill in a September 1 start against the Chicago White Sox. The result was arguably his best start of the season, a 12-strikeout performance, scattering only three hits and one run over 5.2 innings.
After that start, Rodriguez had a few more in him but was mostly used in a relief role for the rest of the regular season. Overall, he finished the season with a 13-5 record in 23 starts (and 27 total appearances). Rodriguez finished with 146 strikeouts and held opponents to a .238 batting average.
A jump in 2019 can be expected for Rodriguez, especially if he displays the aggression manager Alex Cora desires of him. Here are three regular season goals for Rodriguez in 2019.