Carlos Rodon set for MLB starting debut

In the aftermath of the brawl between the White Sox and Royals, suspensions were handed out like candy on Halloween to members of both teams. Since Jeff Samardzija started yesterday's game, he has dropped the appeal on his five-game suspension, and will begin serving it today. While this news would generally come and go with no real fanfare, there's an interesting side-effect from this.

Ventura confirms that Carlos Rodon will start on Saturday with Samardzija serving his suspension.

— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) May 6, 2015

Rodon was called up by the White Sox on April 20th to pitch out of the bullpen, but his long term future is as a starting pitcher. His first taste of MLB action hasn't gone as smoothly as Rodon would have hoped, but he's still an enormous talent. He threw just 31.2 innings in the minors before being added to the active roster, and never had a K/9 below 11.70.

While this is just a spot start until Samardzija's suspension is lifted, if Rodon has a better than average start, it could affect how the White Sox move forward. Their rotation has been a mess thus far, and could desperately use a good starter. Chris Sale and Samardzija aren't going anywhere, but Rodon could easily replace one of their back-end starters. It's unclear if he'll be subjected to a strict pitch count, but could potentially throw as many as 100 pitches.

Carlos Rodon threw 63 pitches Sat. Had thrown 87 in each of 2 minor league starts. Thinks he's still built for 90-100. Up in air. #WhiteSox

— Dan Hayes (@CSNHayes) May 6, 2015

Saturday's start will be a must watch game as Rodon makes his starting debut, and auditions for a permanent spot in the rotation.