The current thing holding Carlos Rodon back from hitting his No. 2 starter potential, or something even greater, is bursitis in his left bicep. All the talk of him of pitching 200 innings and flashing top of the rotation stuff goes out the window if he can’t be healthy and hit his top velocity.
But before all that, if someone asked me how I would start proving that Rodon has shown the ability to thrive in the major leagues — and I was forbidden from just showing video of Rodon pumping 99 mph into the zone in the seventh inning or wiping out hitters of either hand with a diabolical slider — I would refer to his DRA.