Scouting White Sox' 1st Round Pick, LHP Carlos Rodon

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Player: Carlos Rodon
 
Drafted by: White Sox, Round 1, Pick 3
 
Position: LHP
 
DOB: 12/10/1992 (Age: 21)
 
Height/Weight: 6’3”, 234 lbs
 
Bats/Throws: L/L
 
School: North Carolina State
 
Previously Drafted: 16th round, 2011 (Brewers)
 
 
Background
 
Nobody in college baseball has been better over the last three seasons than Carlos Rodon. And now, after a historically good career at N.C. State, the left-hander is finally ready to enter the professional ranks.
 
A 16th-round selection by the Brewers in 2011 out of high school, Rodon has been viewed as the favorite to be this year’s No. 1-overall pick basically since setting foot on campus. In 2012 the left-hander became the first freshman in conference history to win the ACC Pitcher of the Year award after posting a 1.57 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 135 strikeouts in 114.2 innings (16 starts). His remarkable season also led to him being named Louisville Sluggers’ National Freshman of the Year.
 
Rodon was even more impressive as a sophomore, as the then-20-year-old made 19 starts and pitched to a 2.99 ERA with 184 strikeouts (a new school record and the most among Division I hurlers) in 132.1 innings (12.51 K/9). Perhaps more significantly, he helped guide the Wolfpack to their first College World Series appearance since 1968. Following the season, the southpaw was recognized as USA Baseball’s Player of the Year. Rodon also spent parts of the last two summers pitching for the Team USA Collegiate Team, allowing a combined three earned runs over 36 total innings.
 
However, Rodon wasn’t as consistent or dominant this spring as he was in previous years; the 21-year-old finished the season with an excellent 2.01 ERA and dropped his BB/9 below 3.00, but he also posted career-worsts with a 1.17 WHIP and 7.66 H/9.
 
The greatest concern to emerge from Rodon’s junior campaign had more to do with his workload than the slight statistical regression, as he twice threw more than 130 pitches in a game toward the end of the season and eclipsed 100 pitches in a majority of his starts.
 
Teams considering Rodon for one of the top first-round picks have every right to question his health and durability. However, unless a previously undisclosed (or unknown) injury is revealed prior to the draft, it will be nearly impossible for them to disregard his three-year track record of sheer dominance and potential to pitch at the front of a big-league rotation in short order.
 
 
Full Scouting Report
 
Note: Numerical scores are on the conventional 80-point scouting scale, with the current score first and projected score second.
 
Body/Mechanics
 
Physically mature frame at 6’3”, 234 pounds that requires minimal projection; clean, compact delivery; good trunk rotation and use of lower half; arm action is quick and relatively smooth, though it also can appear heavy at times when his release point is off; heavy use of slider and high pitch counts as the Wolfpack ace raise concern about future arm/elbow injury; has proved to be durable during college career, with some minor back issues representing the only blemishes in his medical history.