The One Hitter…The 6 Man Rotation

June 30, 2020

This is the one hitter, don’t forget to exhale.

When you hear “60 game season”, you think of a sprint and your mind may go towards a 4 man rotation to maximize starts by your best pitchers. Think 2008 when Ned Yost got 17 starts out of CC Sabathia in roughly the same time frame. But we do not have the staff for that.

One thing I really liked about the off-season was that Hahn put together a rotation of about 7 starters. Knowing that some were already injured, over the course of the year there would be more injury, and some might just be bad. Having this cushion is a smart way to do business in today’s MLB. But now in the current situation, we have a new type of season. So I give you, the White Sox six man rotation:

Starters 1-5 are the best of these six pitchers and one gets moved to the bullpen: Dallas Keuchel, Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, Gio Gonzalez, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dylan Cease. Now wait a minute Chorizy-E, you forgot someone. Yes, Carlos Rodon will be our sixth starter.

The way I see it, Carlos is at his best when he can throw a lot of sliders. Like as many sliders as Steve Stone threw curveballs when he won the Cy Young, maybe more. But that definitely puts a toll on an arm, especially one coming back from injury. So the plan is for Carlos to pitch every Sunday, while the 5-man rotation works around that. And obviously, we’re going ’70s Sundays for this, cuz the guy just looks so damn good in that jersey.

This gives Rodon extra rest and allows him to use an optimal pitch selection. It also adds a day off for the rotation that would be expected in the first 2 months of the season, but is not available in the 60 games in 64 days model. Let’s give these guys a break and enjoy each Sunday start while listening to K-Billy’s Super Sounds of the ’70s while Los is out there cutting up the competition.