Carlos Rodon's rookie season with White Sox ends on high note

While the Major League Baseball season is still winding down, Carlos Rodon's year is over. Rodon made the final start of his rookie campaign against the Yankees last Friday; he tossed six innings while allowing two earned runs and striking out four on the way to his ninth win.

Rodon's final line for 2015: 9-6, 3.75 ERA, 139-1/3 IP, 139 K, 71 BB. His ERA is four percent better than league average, which ain't too shabby for a debut season, especially a debut season that began while Rodon was still less than a year removed from being at NC State.

Over his last eight starts, he was exceptional and consistent, going a minimum of six innings in each game. The White Sox won six of those eight games, and Rodon picked up five wins. He had a 1.81 ERA over that span, while limiting opposing batters to a .198 batting average. It's no coincidence that his control was better during that stretch as well: he averaged about 3.5 walks per nine innings, as opposed to his year-long average of 4.6.

In span of five months, Rodon went from a kid making his debut out of the pen to the White Sox's third-best starting pitcher, behind Chris Sale and Jose Quintana. Lookin' forward to seeing what he does for an encore.