Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Yankees Prediction: Can Carlos Rodon Rack Up the Strikeouts?
The New York Yankees are in rough shape right now and could potentially get swept by the Los Angeles Angels. Can Carlos Rodon rack up the strikeouts tonight to help the Yankees avoid the sweep? Ben Rajavuori breaks it down.
Ben Rajavuori - July 19, 2023, 4:44 PM EDT
5 minLos Angeles Angels vs. New York Yankees Prediction: Can Carlos Rodon Rack Up the Strikeouts?
The New York Yankees are in rough shape right now, staring down the barrel of a sweep to the Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees are 1-4 since the all-star break, and the lone win was against the Colorado Rockies. You would think Aaron Boone is on the hot seat by now, but it seems like he'll never go. There is a bright spot tonight because Carlos Rodon makes his third start of the season after missing the first half of the season with an injury. Can Rodon help the Yankees avoid the sweep?
Angels vs. Yankees Date, Time, Where to Watch
- Date: July 19, 2023
- Time: 7:07 pm ET
- Where to Watch: MLB.TV
Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Yankees Prediction
Sure, Aaron Judge is on the sidelines still, which has made matters even worse for the Yankees, but many other teams have had to deal with injuries to their big players. The fact of the matter is that the Yankees have one of the highest payrolls in the MLB and still cannot seem to figure it out, even with all that spending. The Yankees sit in last place in the AL East right now and do not look on track to make the playoffs. The good news is that now Rodon is back, Nestor Cortes is close to back, and so is Judge. With that being said, Rodon needs a good outing tonight to get the Yankees back on track and get momentum back out of the all-star break, or they may dig a hole in last place too deep to climb out of.
Carlos Rodon is a strikeout pitcher through and through. Last season, Rodon was first overall in the MLB among qualified pitchers with 1.33 strikeouts per inning. In 2021, he had 1.4 strikeouts per inning, which would have put him in first again, but he didn't have enough innings pitched to qualify (he still had 132.2). It seems like people are forgetting Rodon is one of the top strikeout arms in the MLB because his line is 6.5 strikeouts today against the Angels.
I actually faded Rodon's strikeout prop in his first start against the Cubs, but that was because it was his first MLB start since returning from his injury, and he was also on a pitch count. However, his next start, his last start, he went 88 pitches, so he should be nearing 100% workload by now if he could go nearly 90 a week ago. This could be a scary sign for the Angles tonight, considering their recent success against left-handed pitchers at the plate.
No team in the MLB has struck out more against a left-handed pitcher at home than the Angels in the past 30 days. The Angels are slightly below average on the season, ranking 16th with a 23.1% strikeout rate against lefties, but they have had a 32.1% strikeout rate the past 30 days against lefty pitchers at home, which is easily the highest in the league.
This is basically a matchup served up on a platter for Rodon. He's finally pretty close to 100%, and he just pitched for six strikeouts in five innings against the Rockies in Coors Field, a hitter-friendly park. Rodon should thrive in this matchup and prove once again why he has led the MLB in strikeouts per inning the last two seasons. This is a great price on a player with as high of a ceiling as Rodon, as he could easily hit double-digit strikeouts tonight. The line on him to hit double-digits is actually pretty good on FanDuel at +500.
Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Yankees Pick
2 Unit Pick: Carlos Rodon Over 6.5 Strikeouts -138 is currently the best odds. Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
MLB Odds
