Carlos Rodon (SP, CHW) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 6% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Carlos Rodon is finally on the brink of returning from his long injury absence, as he is targeting a return to the White Sox rotation in late May. It might be silly to think Rodon will reclaim his massive strikeout upside and low hard-hit rate right away, as he will almost surely start out on a strict pitch count. However, the amount of upside you can buy yourself now in an arm like Rodon's is too tempting to pass up.

Rodon has struck out 383 batters in 373 2/3 MLB innings and, even if his ERA has gone up in each of the last three seasons, his strikeouts alone are tempting enough to add. A lot of his issues from 2017 stemmed from elevated walk (4.0 per nine) and home run (1.6 per nine) rates, but he can bounce back in a big way if he keeps his hit rate low (8.3 per nine).

He could be returning SP2 value by the time July rolls around, and he is available almost everywhere. It is wise to get him before he is a top waiver pickup in two weeks.