Eduardo Rodriguez DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez made his long-awaited season debut in Wednesday's 5-3 victory over the Guardians. Rodriguez went five-and-two-thirds innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits (two home runs) and two walks while striking out just one batter. The lefty picked up the win despite not missing many bats as he coaxed just two swings-and-misses in the outing but should have a much more favorable matchup in his next turn through the rotation when he faces the Rockies at home in his next start. The 31-year-old is coming off a strong 2023 season with Detroit where he went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA (3.66 FIP), 1.15 WHIP, and a 15.3% K-BB%.

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said before Monday's series opener against the hosting Cleveland Guardians that starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (lat) will officially start for the team on Tuesday. After a season full of stops and starts because of injuries, Rodriguez will make his highly-anticipated D-backs debut in Tuesday's game against the Guardians. Rodriguez first suffered a strained left lat in spring training before running into several setbacks on the road to recovery, but he's ready to roll after throwing a four-inning simulated game on Wednesday. Rodriguez accrued a strong 3.30 ERA in 152 2/3 innings with the Detroit Tigers in 2023, but he'll be difficult to trust for fantasy purposes against the first-place Guardians on the road on Tuesday.

Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (shoulder) will throw a four-inning simulated game on Wednesday and could be an option to come off the injured list to make his debut with the D-backs next week on the road against the Cleveland Guardians, according to manager Torey Lovullo. It's a bit surprising that Arizona isn't going to require the 31-year-old veteran southpaw to go on a minor-league rehab assignment despite having not pitched at all in 2024 after initially injuring his shoulder/lat in spring training. Because of the fact that he's expected to join the starting rotation without having pitched in a live game all year, fantasy managers should be extremely hesitant to rely on E-Rod, especially in a bad matchup in Cleveland against the first-place Guardians. When Rodriguez is fully stretched out, he'll make for a matchup-based streamer in deep-mixed leagues, at best.