Elmer Rodríguez made his Major League debut earlier this season but struggled in four starts and was sent to Triple A. He was recalled to the Major League roster on August 26th and has made two starts since, bringing his season stats to 4.86 FIP, 17% K, and 13% BB in 26.2 IP.
These starts have demonstrated an interesting gap between the quality of his pitch usage and his actual results.
Pitch Mix & Results
Rodríguez features a five-pitch mix that is high velocity and features above average movement. His 96 mph sinker, 80 mph sweeper, and 78 mph curveball are his three best offerings, as they all have above average depth and horizontal movement. He also throws a fourseamer and a changeup.
In his first four starts before being optioned, he was struggling in two primary areas. The first was control. Rodríguez has consistently struggled to limit walks, and this has been his biggest weakness throughout his Minor League career as well. The second was his inability to generate strikeouts at the same rate he did in the Minor Leagues, a trend that began after his promotion to Triple A.
| Year (Level) | IP | K% | BB% |
| 2023 (A) | 55.1 | 23% | 12% |
| 2024 (A and A+) | 89.2 IP | 27% | 12% |
| 2025 (A+, AA and AAA) | 150 IP | 29% | 9% |
| 2026 (AAA) | 97.1 IP | 24% | 11% |
| 2026 (MLB) | 26.2 | 17% | 13% |
When breaking down his 2026 season stats into his first four starts and the two starts since his recall, there is an improvement in his strikeout rate:
| Period | IP | K% | BB% |
| First Four Starts (Pre-June 22) | 17 | 12% | 13% |
| Since Being Recalled (Post August 25) | 9.2 | 26% | 12% |
Even though two games started is a small sample since being recalled, Rodríguez made changes to his pitch usage against each hand that may have positively impacted his results.
Attack vs Right-Handed Hitters
Earlier in the season Rodríguez leaned heavily on the sinker as his primary fastball against righties, with his sweeper as his primary secondary pitch. Since returning, the sinker remains the foundation of his attack, but he has significantly shifted usage from his sweeper to his curveball.
He throws all three of those pitches (sinker, sweeper, and curveball) to the lower outer quadrant of the zone. Working with the sinker, the curveball provides a greater velocity separation compared to the sweeper.
His results in a small sample also favor the curveball as a better put-away pitch. The curveball is getting more whiffs in this location and has a higher two-strike conversion rate than the sweeper.
This gives Rodríguez an updated plan of attack against righties. The sinker remains his most used pitch through an at-bat, but the curveball takes over the role of the sweeper to get whiff and ultimately generate strikeouts.
Attack vs Left-Handed Hitters
Against lefties, Rodríguez made two major changes:
- Increased usage of the curveball and decreased usage of the changeup.
- Increased usage of the sinker and decreased usage of the fourseamer.
Overall, this attack against lefties is a simplification in his approach. Instead of distributing his pitches as evenly across the sinker, fourseamer, curveball, and changeup, he is increasingly relying on the sinker and curveball.
Worth noting is that the fourseamer has better contact quality results than the sinker. However, Rodríguez is able to throw the sinker in zone more consistently.
This makes the sinker more useful during an at-bat, especially when paired with the curveball. He throws both pitches to the lower third of the zone, but they play different roles. The sinker stays in the zone more frequently, while the curveball can break below the zone and generate whiff.
Many pitchers opt for a fourseamer/curveball pair instead, using the fourseamer to the upper half and the curveball to the lower half. This approach is very effective when the pitcher has strong enough control to consistently land the fourseamer in the upper half of the zone. Since Rodríguez struggles to locate the fourseamer in zone, hitters can more easily recognize the lower curveball and lay off it.
The sinker provides him a different option because it can be thrown to the same lower third of the zone as the curveball. While the sinker stays in zone, the curveball drops. In this case, the two pitches better pair with each other and force hitters to make a tougher decision when they see a pitch headed to that location.
This is important because even though Rodríguez simplified his approach against lefties, he is able to lean more heavily on pitches that he can execute in similar locations that also have different movement characteristics and play two distinct roles.
Note on Arm Slot
One interesting note is that Rodríguez releases the curveball from a slightly higher slot than his other pitches. His curveball has an average vertical release height of 6.0 feet, compared with 5.5 feet for his sinker. The horizontal release points are nearly the same, but the difference in height could give away the pitch type for hitters.
Remaining Obstacles and Looking Ahead
The control issues that Rodríguez faces are a major limitation for his ceiling. He has a worse than average 13% walk rate, 44% zone rate, and 24% chase rate. He consistently falls behind in the count with a low 54% first pitch strike rate.
The changes he made to his pitch usage do not solve this issue, but rather helps him manage it.
The improvement to his strikeout rate in his last couple of starts is interesting because it has not been a result of simply throwing more fastballs. Instead, Rodríguez has found better combinations of his pitches that better utilize his strengths and control. If he can maintain this strikeout rate, it will help mitigate damage caused by the walks.