A notable ‘Doctor K’ appeared in the major leagues.
The main character is Cincinnati Reds left-hander Nick Rodolo (25), a starting pitcher in his second year in the big leagues who debuted in the major leagues last year.
He pitched in two games this season, striking out 21 in 12 innings. 안전놀이터Although it is early in the season, it ranks first in the strikeout category. Inducing 37 swings, this is also the first place. The strikeout rate of 9 innings is 15.75, which is second only to Texas Rangers’ Jacob DiGro (16.76), and the strikeout rate for the number of opponents is 41.2%, which is fourth.
In his first appearance of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the 2nd, he allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out nine in five innings. He became the winning pitcher as the team won 6-2. Then, against the Philadelphia Phillies on the 9th, he had a brilliant fight with 3 hits and 12 strikeouts in 7 innings, but the team lost 2-3 and missed the victory.
His strikeouts set his own record for most strikeouts in a single game. It is said that it was the first time since Tom Hall against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 15, 1972, that a Cincinnati left-hander struck out 12 or more in one game and kept a scoreless run. At that time, Hall recorded a shutout victory with 3 hits and 12 strikeouts in 9 innings.
Immediately after the match against Philadelphia, Cincinnati coach David Bell said, “Last year Rodolo was very good. He fought hard and gained confidence. His control is also improving.”
As coach Bell said, Rodolo showed potential by posting 4 wins and 7 losses and an ERA of 3.66 in 19 starts last year. He struck out 131 in 103⅓ innings. But just like his college days, his discipline was unpredictable. He gave up a whopping 19 sand dunes, giving him the disgrace of first place overall in this category.
But this year, there are no sand dunes yet. He also allowed only four walks. It is analyzed that he opened his eyes to pitching in the second half of last year. He had a 2.75 earned run average in his last nine games, and also struck out 11 in two consecutive games.
“I could throw a fastball wherever I wanted,” Rodolo said in an interview with MLB.com about his pitching after the Philadelphia game. ‘ The curveball is definitely my best pitch. I will continue to throw it.”
As he said, Rodolo’s main weapon is his curveball. He has thrown 46.0 percent of his four-seam, 37.2 percent of his curveball, 11.2 percent of his changeup, and 5.6 percent of his sinker this year. His fastball velocity averaged 93.2 mph and peaked at 95.7 mph, which is slow for his age. Curve has an average velocity of 79.0 mph and a miss rate of 46.3%.
He has an unusual draft history. He was nominated by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 41st overall pick in the 1st round of the 2016 draft, but did not sign. It is very unusual for a first-round designated player to not sign a contract right away.
Anyway, after striking out 296 in 258⅔innings over two seasons in college, he made his way to the pros. Although his pitch was jagged and hit many pitches, his strikeout ability was well-received from his college days. His signing contract was $5.43 million.
Cincinnati is looking to 100-mile fireballers Hunter Green and Rodolo as their next-generation one-two punch.