AL Central update: Carlos Rodon, Torii Hunter, Nick Swisher, Joakim Soria

The White Sox top pitching prospect Carlos Rodon made his major league debut last night, pitching 2 and 1/3 in relief while giving up two runs on three hits.

Rodon, the 15th best prospect according to MLB.com, is following a similar path to current White Sox ace Chris Sale, who similarly struggled in his first appearance for the team.  A larger concern coming from last night's outing by Rodon is the managerial decisions of Robin Ventura, says Jim Margalus of South Side Sox.

AL Central Standings 4/22:

AL Central news & notes 4/22:

• After the dust has settled from the battle between the Kansas City Royals and Oakland A's, some suspensions and fines were given out. Kelvin Herrera received a five-game suspension for throwing a 100 MPH fastball behind A's third-baseman Brett Lawrie on Sunday. Yordano Ventura was fined an undisclosed amount for his actions, throwing at Lawrie on Saturday.

• The new look Mike Moustakas - Royals Review
  "Moustakas is in or near the sweet spot of the classic aging curve so maybe this the break out we've all been told is coming for years."

• Missing on Hunter led Royals to Morales - The Kansas City Star
  "Well, the truth of the matter is we tried to sign Torii Hunter," Moore said. "And if we would have signed Torii Hunter, we probably wouldn’t have done anything with Kendrys, truthfully. "But we didn’t win in negotiations there; Torii wanted to go home (to Minnesota). So we went after the next-best available bat, and we felt Kendrys was that guy." As such, the price for Morales was $6.5 million in 2015 and $9 million in 2016 with a mutual option of $11 million or a $1.5 million buyout in 2017.

• The Cleveland Indians are close to getting back one of their bigger pieces in their lineup. Nick Swisher, who is recovering from surgery on his knees, is scheduled to begin a rehab program at Triple-A Columbus.

• Another Indian, Carlos Carrasco made his return after taking a comebacker off of his jaw in his last start, but only threw 60 pitches.

• A number of teams are off to a hot-start this season. One of those teams, the Detroit Tigers (11-3), have a lot to thank for their great start. In particular, it is the addition of Yoenis Cespedes that has kept the Tigers at the top.

• Joakim Soria should remain Tigers' closer when Joe Nathan returns - Bless You Boys
  "While Joe Nathan's rehab from a flexor strain in his pitching well has gone well, and he should return from the disabled list as soon as he's eligible on April 22, he's likely to find himself in an unfamiliar position when he rejoins the Tigers' bullpen. There is little time left for Soria to lose any traction by struggling in the ninth inning. He's made it very difficult for Tigers' manager Brad Ausmus to consider restoring Nathan as the Tigers' closer."

• It may be a little early, but Andrew Bryzgornia of Twinkie Town took a look at how Paul Molitor is doing as Twins manager.