Grayson Rodriguez's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez fell one out short of earning a quality start in Thursday's contest versus the Boston Red Sox. The youngster went 5 2/3 innings and allowed six hits, two runs, two walks and struck out five on the evening. The two walks were a season high, while the five strikeouts were a season low. Nonetheless, Rodriguez has remained effective and continues to ascend as one of the leagues best young arms. In three starts, Rodriguez is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched. He should be rostered everywhere and will look to build on his success versus the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

Baltimore Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is working this spring on a two-seam fastball that he wants to incorporate into his arsenal in 2024. Rodriguez sits in the upper-90s with his four-seam fastball, but it was also a pitch that was hit hard by opponents in his first year in the big leagues in 2023. Adding a new fastball with some break to should make it more difficult for hitters to sit on his upper-90s four-seamer. The new two-seamer could take the place of his cut fastball, which he also didn't have great results with last year. Rodriguez had a 4.35 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with 129 strikeouts and 42 walks in 122 innings in his first MLB action in 2023, but his strong finish to the year (2.58 ERA in 13 starts) bodes well for those targeting him as their No. 2 starter in fantasy drafts.

Baltimore Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez struggled initially in his first taste of the big leagues in 2023, and the core of the issue was a lack of fastballs thrown. By September, he was throwing his fastball 56.7% of the time, a 12.2% increase from May. He threw 69% fastballs in his final start against the Rays, when he tossed eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts. Rodriguez is focused on leaning on his fastball more in 2024 and is tinkering with adding a two-seam fastball to his repertoire. The pitch has more arm-side run that could jam a right-handed hitter. After going back to the minors for a bit last year, the 24-year-old was great with a 2.58 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 73 strikeouts over 76 2/3 innings (13 starts) to finish the year. Overall workload could be an issue, but the former top prospect's finish to 2023 was very encouraging.