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Sandwiched in between debuts of impact bats on the Northside, Carlos Rodon’s entrée into the Big Leagues was less than stellar. In 2.1 innings of relief, Rodon gave up two earned on three hits and three walks. If you’re keeping score, and most are, Kris Bryant and Addison Russell both struck out three times in their debuts. The world kept spinning.

And it will for the White Sox.

There are two aspects of Rodon’s call-up that hold the most intrigue for me. One was the timing. While his coming up on April 21st secured an extra year of control, it leaves him with just 34.1 innings of minor league ball (with a nod of acknowledgement to a massive collegiate workload). Sure, Rodon is as close to Major League ready as a kid gets but it seems what gets him into trouble–fastball command–is something perhaps best worked out in the minors.

Then there’s the relief role. The idea had been floated around as soon as he was drafted–another sign of how “ready” he is. Still, for a team that’s gotten 16.1 rough innings from John Danks (6.06 ERA, 1.47 WHIP) and 10.1 innings of typical Hector Noesi (5.23 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) you’d imagine he might provide a shot in the arm.

What makes both of those curious aspects easy to look past is the White Sox track record. They’ve done this before. It’s easy to remember Chris Sale working into the Big Leagues as a shut-down lefty reliever before becoming the White Sox Ace, with Cy Young Potential, no less. Sale, though, got 79 relief appearances spread out over two seasons to get established. Rodon, it seems, may be called on this season to start.

Hector Noesi–yes, that Hector Noesi–might be the analog here. Once traded to the Sox, Noesi was stretched out over three appearances (one relief, two starts) before assuming a full starter’s work load. Knowing that, and knowing he’ll stay somewhat stretched out while under the eye of pitching coach Don Cooper, helps put Rodon’s immediate future into perspective.

Here’s hoping that working the staff here in Chicago helps put Rodon’s fastball command back on track and that they use their prior experience to help him through an unfamiliar role. I expect to see Rodon starting games for the White Sox at some point this summer but until then, it’s nice to know the plan.