Elmer Rodriguez's rough Yankees debut is over, but a key positive shone through

When Elmer Rodriguez was called up on April 28, there was a palpable sense of excitement emanating from the Bronx. The top prospect was brought up to make just two starts while Carlos Rodón completed his rehab assignment. It was an uncharacteristic choice for the New York Yankees, who often forgo the bold move, and seemed destined to do so again this time around with two swingmen types already on the roster in Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn.

But these aren't the Yankees of yesteryear. They operate with a sense of urgency that we've rarely seen from them before. Rodriguez was the exciting option, but ultimately, he proved he's not yet a finished product.

The 22-year-old made two starts, threw 8 2/3 innings, walked more batters (eight) than he struck out (five), and got tagged with a loss. Control was apparently his trademark in the minors, but we didn't see it before he got sent back down to Scranton.

Overall, the performance was disappointing, yet not entirely unexpected. It shouldn't change his future outlook, and in a strange way, one big bright spot might actually make his future look even more enticing.

The Yankees should feel confident based on how Elmer Rodriguez responded to adversity

Rodriguez had the misfortune of drawing the Texas Rangers twice across his two starts. Now, the Rangers aren't some sort of offensive juggernaut, but the way the schedule worked out, he lost the biggest advantage that a pitcher making his big league debut can have.

The element of surprise always favors a pitcher, and while Rodriguez had that during his first start, Texas had already seen what he had in his bag of tricks in the second go-round. That put him behind the eight ball, and it showed early in his second outing.

That's exactly why Rodriguez's debut pair of starts was encouraging. The Rangers came out and punched Rodriguez in the mouth during their visit to Yankee Stadium. The familiarity worked to their benefit, and Rangers' hitters laid off Rodriguez's offerings out of the zone and took advantage of his lack of command. They scored three runs in the first and ran his pitch count up to 37.

Aaron Boone got Ryan Yarbrough up before the youngster got it together and escaped the first inning down three runs, getting Danny Jansen to ground out with the bases still loaded. From there, though, he'd settle in for a while. What looked like an absolute blowout in the making was kept in check. Rodriguez got through the next three innings relatively efficiently and unscathed.

The Yankees roared back and tied the game at three after the second inning. The Yankees' No. 3 prospect got the first two outs in the top of the fifth, but ultimately loaded the bases before being pulled for Brent Headrick. Headrick did what he's done so many other times this year, and got out of the inherited jam.

By no means was it an impressive outing for Rodriguez, but he took a shot and didn't get knocked out. Many youngsters would've been knocked out in the first, but he kept battling, saving a short-handed Yankees' bullpen in the process.

There's a certain level of grit required to do that, and that competitive spirit is something that Baseball America (subscription required) has noted that scouts rave about.

Not everyone has that makeup to compete and grind, even when the situation is disadvantageous and you don't have our best stuff, but Rodriguez proved that he has that grit. That's a huge positive moving forward and should only improve our perception of the talented young hurler moving forward.

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