Manuel Rodriguez Redefines Efficiency In Gem
At 18 years old, Brewers righthander Manuel Rodriguez is one of the youngest players in the Carolina League. He’s the second-youngest pitcher on his own team, just two days older than fellow righty Josh Knoth. On Tuesday, he looked experienced beyond his years.
Facing Fayetteville (also a youthful club), Rodriguez pounded the zone with high-80s fastballs that scraped 91 mph, low-80s changeups and slicing sliders in the high 70s. For seven innings, he mixed, matched, changed speeds and eye levels and generally flummoxed the opposition. He made one mistake, a home run allowed to his penultimate hitter, but otherwise was the picture of efficiency.
Rodriguez needed just 64 pitches to complete his outing, which included six strikeouts and eight swings and misses. The effort was his longest of the season, lowered his ERA to 2.67 and upped his strike rate to a whopping 70%.
