It used to be fun to argue about if Schwarber or Rodon would be better when we assumed they'd be good. Now it's just arguing over who is the least disappointing.

+1

We also have the Happ/Fulmer turd debate!

Now they're talking about Tommy John surgery for him.

Cooper better start taking care of these guys.

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At least Schwarber stays relatively healthy and contributes to some MLB wins here and there.

Rodon is borderline worthless at this point.

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At least there will never be a clip of Rodon tumbling into the infield, bouncing a ball of his head, and then heaving it into the right field bleachers.

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You always find a way to see the positive.

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Never say never.

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The pitching and the future of their pitching is in shambles.

Right now I'm focused on Giolito and Lopez. If they turn out to be decent major league starters its going to make everything else a lot easier.

It looked to me that something was wrong with Rodon and his delivery. HE started out great and then seemed to lose his control. Maybe a blister because his mechanics looked the same?? Oops.....Looks like it is his elbow. Not good news at all. A bad starting pitching staff just got worse.

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An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

Thought I would revisit my list from last year of White Sox pitching prospects:

1. Carlos Rodon- bona fide MLB starter, probably not an ace;
2. Reynaldo Lopez- his FIP has risen year over year;
3. Lucas Giolito- dramatic improvement. It looks they probably found a winner here;
4. Carson Fulmer- 4.50 ERA at Charlotte (which is actually an improvement over this time last year) 5.30 at the major league level;
5. Michael Kopech- hurt;
6. Dylan Cease- 5.54 ERA at the major league level, but things might be looking up;
7. Alec Hansen- poor numbers in the minors;
8. Dane Dunning- hurt;
9. Zack Burdi- 6.75 ERA in the minors! This guy should have been able to roll out of bed and do better than this;
10. Spencer Adams- appears to be dead to the world.

You could take some names of this list and add others if you were making a new list this year, but pitching is a pretty fickle bitch. When the rebuild started I just assumed pitching would be the heart of it, but it looks like it won't be.

What has Rodon done to be considered a bona fide MLB starter?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Career 4.08 ERA. How much would that cost on the open market?

He's looked like an ace when he is rolling. He can't stay healthy though.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Coming off an injury plauged 2018, and a tommy john? Not much.

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So you wouldn't bet on him to be at least a number three or four starter in this league?

His arm will fall off. Most people think it will fall of on the follow through but I think it will be at the top of his delivery.

That wasn't your question.

Yes, I think there is a chance he can start maybe 12 games as a #4 or #5 next year. I wouldn't expect much out of him, as he needs to prove it.

As for your original question of Rodon's cost on the open market right now, as I said not much. If he were a free ajent, he would probably get an incentive laden deal worth about $2 million base, with team/mutual options for a second or perhaps a third year.

A "bona fide" MLB starter is not what you would use to describe a guy who has never won double digit games, and has only taken the bump 39 times since the start of the 2017 season.

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Average MLB ERA for 2019- 4.50
Rodon's Career ERA - 4.08

Average MLB WHIP for 2019-1.340
Rodon's Career WHIP- 1.376

He's average or better in at least those two stats, he's 26, he was the third overall pick in the draft, he has terrific stuff, and Tommy John surgery is not a death sentence. You're right, he has been injury plagued, but he has proven he can pitch at the major league level, and he's worth a lot more than 2 million dollars a year.

Adams has a potential future and has been sidelined with some back issues which isn't unusual for tall lanky pitchers. He'll go back to 3A next season and is still very young(23).

I know that no one wants to hear this again but I still think Fulmer can make it. He's got a very good fastball.

Cease is very interesting to me and hopefully he can learn from the progress that Giolitto made. The Angels broadcasters put up a comparison of the delivery that he has compared to last year and were gushing about the change that Giolitto made and how it made him a very good starting pitcher.

Kopech is still a wild card for me. Hopefully he can physically recover but also I think he needs to control himself on the mound and in his physical regimen. An arm like his doesn't come around that often but all pitchers only have so many bullets in their arsenal and he needs to save his arm.

Lopez will make it as a good starting pitcher I think. This is a learning year for him but he has good stuff. I think that he can make it as a middle of the rotation starter.

I'm rooting for Rodon because I think that he has been the victim of just plain bad luck. I love his delivery and hopefully the TJ surgery that he will end up with a solid arm.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

I think Lopez seems to be maturing at a decent clip. I think Cease is gonna be pretty good, just have 1 bad inning. Not sure about Adams, I am shocked he wasn't called up last season or early part of this season to do anything. Rodon is done IMO, in a Sox uniform. There is no hope for Fullmer, he is a complete bum. I was high on Hansen before that arm injury a couple years ago, not sure now. Kopech, I would agree needs to control himself. I would live to see what Dunning is about at the ML level. Burdi is still a wildcard of not knowing what going on with him.

In and of itself, of course TJ isn't a death sentence. Before that though, he's had 2 years of shoulder problems. They finally went in there and discovered tissue was rotting. So they cut it out. In other words, some of his shoulder is now missing. And it was missing when his UCL got torn. Coincidence? Or does weakness beget weakness? I'm not setting myself up for disappointment with Carlos.

What are Rodon's WHIP and ERA for 2019?

Where he was drafted has no bearing on him right now. I am not denying Rodon's stuff or his talent. However, one of the biggest abilities for a starting pitcher is availability and over the past two seasons, Rodon has had little to none of that. Maybe he will come back from TJ surgery as MANY pitchers have before him. Maybe he's thrown his final pitch at the MLB level. Nobody knows for sure at this point.

I don't root against Rodon. I hope he is a Cy Young candidate in 2021, provided he is still on the Sox. He definitely has the stuff to pitch at the MLB level, you are correct. But until he proves he can do it again and stick around for a full season, its just flat out stupid to count on him for anything at this point in his career.

Thus, the correct answer to your original question of how much Rodon would get if he were on the open market, is still "not much" as a base salary.

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He has Ivan Nova numbers. I think Ivan Nova makes about $10 million.

but you have to be able to take the ball 30 times per year in order to get that kind of money

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.