Slash Line: Yariel Rodríguez and the beginning of what could be a promising future in MLB
Ryan McMahon executed the same plan that led to Ezequiel Tovar swinging without luck: he tried to chase Cuban Yariel Rodríguez's meandering slider.
After 15 pitches, the Colorado Rockies' first three batters ended up back in the dugout. Two of them, Tovar and McMahon, slowly walked away from the plate with the frustration of receiving strikeouts. The amazing spin rate of Yariel Rodríguez's slider was lurking. With just five doses, he brought a mix of shock and agony to his opponents' faces. The reception at Rogers Center was special, before the crowd of 31,472 spectators. Each burst on the StatCast radars generated expectations during the first inning in the debut of the right-hander from Camagüey.
A fly ball to left, two strikeouts, and nine strikes on 15 pitches (including 10 smoking fastballs that touched 96 mph) became the prelude to a delightful pitching exhibition. The long-awaited day arrived for Yariel Rodríguez, the first litmus test on baseball's biggest stage. “I've been waiting for this moment my whole life,” talented 27-year-old Cuban right-hander Yariel Rodríguez told MLB through a club interpreter. “A lot of sacrifices, a lot of hard work. “It was very, very emotional.”
Exploring the promising future of Yariel Rodríguez
After an electrifying first inning, Yariel continued to show off his potential: he got his third strikeout of the afternoon against Brendan Rodgers, after allowing a double to Kris Bryant and walking Nolan Jones in a seven-pitch at-bat. After two outs, facing his first situation with a runner in scoring position, Yariel dominated Elehuris Montero. He threw his 12th slider of the 20 pitches he threw in the inning. Montero ended up hitting a fly ball just 72.7 mph to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
At the beginning of the third inning, Brenton Doyle opened the Rockies' attack by hitting a solo home run on a 2-1 count. Against what pitch did Doyle hit the home run 420 feet into left field at Rogers Centre? Yes, he crushed a Yariel slider. After mixing two high fastballs and a sinker that practically hit Doyle, Yariel again threw the slider, his lethal weapon. It was the 13th slider of his last 23 pitches, which seemed predictable in a count favorable to the hitter.
Doyle was simply patient, let the pitch come and pulled at it furiously.
However, I think Yariel's sin was not trusting his main breaking ball: the mistake was in the location:
The slider hung high in the strike zone, where MLB hitters increased their home run rate by 1.2% over the past two seasons. In 2023, hitters posted a 3.6% home run rate against all non-slider pitches. What happened when they hit sliders in high areas? The home run rate went up to 4.0%!
The danger is evident, and Yariel must already be processing what the proper adjustment should be to execute the greatest number of quality pitches. Likewise, it's clear what can happen when a pitch misses the mark against MLB hitters. Catcher Brian Serven framed the pitch in the lower third of the strike zone, where Doyle usually hits 49% of his ground balls and had never hit a home run in MLB.
Three of the next five outs that Yariel recorded were strikeouts, imposing the effect of his pitches. He closed the third inning with a grounder into a double play by Tovar, and then struck out McMahon for the second time. He opened the fourth inning with 53 pitches and, although he allowed two singles, he delivered two more strikeouts. His performance with 68 pitches in 3 ⅔ innings of four hits and six strikeouts was an inspiring demonstration for the Blue Jays.
Yariel was replaced after delivering the second strikeout to the Rockies' seventh hitter, second baseman Brendan Rodgers. Although Colorado tried to attack and loaded the bases, right-handed reliever Bowden Francis was responsible for closing the inning without allowing a run. Controlling the situation in that fourth inning was key in the victory of the Blue Jays, who beat the Rockies 5-3 on Saturday afternoon.
“We really couldn't have asked for much more,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He was electric. His slider was great with a lot of swing and miss. His fastball was great. He maintained his composure. “That was a pretty good debut in the big leagues.”
Yariel Rodríguez's personality was once again one of the main attractions of his pitching performance, regardless of the impact caused by his pitches. For his first appearance in the Major Leagues, the fact that he recorded 39% swing and misses from his opponents was a revealing sample. His four-seam fastball peaked at 97.6 mph, but his slider got all the attention, registering a 44% swing-and-miss rate.
“He's not afraid,” Schneider said before the game. “Anytime you come to this place the way he came here, with the things he's been through, you're not very afraid.” That's good. He does many things very well. He controls runners, defends his position, and has all the things you look for in a pitcher's package. He has a good presence. I like it”.
For Yariel Rodríguez, who became the 388th Cuban-born player to debut in MLB — and the seventh to wear the Blue Jays uniform — the challenge in the Major Leagues is just beginning.*
*Before Yariel, Cubans Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (468 games played), Yunel Escobar (338), Kendrys Morales (280), José Canseco (151), Aledmys Diaz (130), and Adeiny Hechavarría (41) played for the Blue Jays. Rodríguez also became the third player born in Cuba to debut in the Major Leagues with the Blue Jays uniform, joining Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (April 20, 2018 in New York) and Adeiny Hechavarría (August 4, 2012 in Oakland). Among them, he is the second to pitch for Toronto, after Kendrys Morales (he was used as a pitcher on May 20, 2018 against the A's).
“I gave it my all. Everything! ”Said Yariel Rodríguez after experiencing the excitement of his long-awaited debut in MLB. “In my first outing, from the first inning, I went out to give my best. The adrenaline was very high, but I gave it my all. “Everything was very emotional.”