Is Eduardo Rodriguez Good?

Eduardo Rodríguez stats

Game stats

Game	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	Sv	ERA

20 Apr vs Yankees	6.0	4	3	3	1	1	5	0	5.27

13 Apr vs Red Sox	3.2	5	7	2	1	3	5	0	5.87

8 Apr vs White Sox	4.0	4	3	3	0	2	2	0	6.75

Regular Season	13.2	13	13	8	2	6	12	0	5.27

Career stats

Year	Team	GP	CG	ER	SO	W	L	Sv	WHIP	ERA

2022	Tigers	3	0	8	12	0	1	0	1.39	5.27

2021	Red Sox	32	0	83	185	13	8	0	1.39	4.74

2019	Red Sox	34	0	86	213	19	6	0	1.33	3.81

2018	Red Sox	27	0	55	146	13	5	0	1.26	3.82

2017	Red Sox	25	0	64	150	6	7	0	1.28	4.19

2016	Red Sox	20	0	56	100	3	7	0	1.30	4.71

2015	Red Sox	21	0	52	98	10	6	0	1.29	3.85

Career		162	0	404	904	64	40	0	1.31	4.18

Is Eduardo Rodriguez Good?

Eduardo Rodriguez may not have gotten the results he wanted in 2021, but the numbers revealed a different tale, culminating in one of the most perplexing pitching seasons in recent Red Sox history.

Red Sox scratch Rodriguez from opener — Eduardo Rodriguez

This season was one of the most perplexing I can recall from a Red Sox pitcher, and while I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, I’ll say it again:

It reminds me of the Community episode when Abed takes a class on whether or not Nicolas Cage is a good actor. That’s where I stand when it comes to Eduardo Rodriguez’s 2021 season.

If you believe it was a good season, start with the peripherals, which portrayed the southpaw in a very flattering light.

Despite some lackluster outcomes (which we’ll discuss later), Rodriguez completed 2021 with a 3.32 FIP, the best of his career and 21 percent better than the league average after accounting for park variables.

It’s not difficult to see how he got there, either, as he kept his home run rate in line with his career standards while also setting career highs in strikeout rate and walk rate.

To dive a bit deeper, it appears it came down to hitting the zone, which he accomplished 49 percent of the time this year (according to Baseball Savant), which is a career-high.

Beyond the basepaths, the best pitch in the lefty’s arsenal remained the finest pitch in his arsenal, with Rodriguez dominating with the changeup once again.

He’s had one of the top changeups in baseball for a long time, and it was once again his strongest offering in 2021, creating a whiff rate of nearly 30% while also causing a lot of poor contacts.

Rodriguez’s changeup had an average exit velocity of 83 mph, and his wOBA and anticipated wOBA against the pitch were both under .300, according to Baseball Savant.

His command of the changeup is outstanding, as he is able to consistently paint the bottom corner on his arm-side.

Rodriguez was also able to improve his stats against left-handed batters this season, which is quite unusual for a southpaw.

Given his changeup proficiency, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he has frequently displayed reverse splits throughout his career, with that offspeed pitch keeping right-handed bats off-balance.

To be fair, he had a .334 wOBA versus right-handed batters this season.