White Sox prospect Carlos Rodon , the third overall pick in last year's draft, made his first start of the season for Triple-A Charlotte and made a case for a promotion to the Majors.
Rodon pitched five innings, allowing two runs--one earned--on two hits. Rodon struck out a career-high nine batters and walked two.
Rodon threw 87 pitches, 56 for strikes.
One reason Rodon was sent to the minors at the end of spring training was to work on his changeup. That appears to be going well.
"My fastball command was real good," Rodon said, per the Charlotte Observer. "My slider wasn’t at its best, but the changeup was a lot better. I don’t know, I threw 14 changeups and 17 sliders, but those 14 changeups were better than most of those sliders."