Improved Fastball Key to New York Yankee Starting Pitcher's Sharp Turnaround

The New York Yankees need all they can get from their starting pitchers this season, and one veteran has used a resurgent fastball to earn better results in 2025.

Apr 2, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Starting pitching is a hot topic and major area of concern for the New York Yankees so far this season.

With veteran ace Gerrit Cole sidelined for the entire campaign due to his Tommy John surgery, combined with the ongoing absence of reigning American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, the team needs every contribution it can get from the rest of the starters on the roster.

That burden has largely fallen upon Max Fried, the signature acquisition of Brian Cashman's offseason and a veteran ace who has answered the call and performed at an elite level.

It is a pressure also felt by Carlos Rodón, another veteran lefty who Cashman previously spent big free agent money on in hopes of creating a dominant pairing with Cole.

Instead, Rodón has largely disappointed during his tenure, but he's finding his previous form this season when his team needs it the most.

The Yankees are 19th in starting pitching ERA due to struggles at the back end of the rotation, but Rodón's 3.43 ERA places him in good company, and he leads all qualified pitchers with 4.71 hits allowed per nine innings.

The NC State alum delivered another quality outing for New York on Tuesday night, striking out seven in six innings of two-hit, two-run ball against the Baltimore Orioles as the Yankees pummeled their division rivals in a 15-3 win.

Despite the injuries to so many core players, New York boasts an 18-12 record and are first place in the American League East by a game-and-a-half over the Boston Red Sox.

One interesting twist in Rodón's improved results comes from his fastball.

Per Baseball Savant, the pitch is in the 94th percentile in fastball run value, while it sat in the 21st percentile in 2024. That's despite the fact that it was faster on average (95.4 mph) last year than it is this year (94.4 mph).

The offering is also spinning at a slower rate (2384 rpm vs. 2322) and inducing swings and misses less often, but hitters are only batting .200 against it compared to a staggeringly worse .266 a season ago.

Rodón is throwing his four-seam fastball with less velocity than in any campaign since 2021, but that year was the only time his batting average allowed on the primary offering was better than .200.

If the veteran can continue to disguise the pitch and keep batters from sitting on it, it could become an asset instead of a liability for Rodón like it has been in the past.

That would be great news for Yankee fans, and it would go a long way toward this contract aging well, as there are still three seasons on the deal after this one.