Further down the innings chart, Rodriguez sees improved stats through the seventh and eighth innings, which is where he boasts the most amount of work (14 2/3 innings total). Combined, this works to a 3.68 ERA with six earned runs allowed through 53 at-bats. He’s allowed just 12 hits in the span and three walks while striking out 17. He’s also limited the batting averages to .292 and .172, respectively, with his OPS elevated in the seventh inning category because of the three doubles and one home run he’s allowed. Again, this hasn’t translated into too many runs against for him, so he’s limiting that damage. His work in the ninth inning has been limited with Yimi Garcia and Jeff Hoffman in the bullpen, and although his ERA is elevated (similar to his lone first-inning affair), he’s allowed just the one hit through five at-bats and 1 1/3 innings.

Using Baseball Reference’s leverage table, Rodriguez continues to support this trend.

In high-leverage spots, Rodriguez has held hitters to just one run and two hits with a .125 average and a .375 OPS through 16 at-bats. For a situation to be considered high leverage, the Leverage Index Value needs to be over 1.5, such as situations where the win probability changes based on the at-bat, such as having runners in scoring position in a tight game.

Rodriguez has thrived under these situations compared to lower leverage opportunities, where he’s allowed six out of the eight runs this season, and opponents are boasting a .965 OPS off of him. The sample size is larger in the low leverage spots compared to the medium and high leverage spots, so the data comparison isn’t perfect, but for Rodriguez’s numbers to be so limited through 16 at-bats is impressive work.

For example, last night, Rodriguez entered the game in the eighth inning with a two-run lead, and he got one of the Rays’ top bats in Jonathan Aranda to ground out while pitching a clean inning, including a strikeout against Kameron Misner. Another example is his April 19th outing against the Seattle Mariners, where he pitched two innings in extras and didn’t allow a single earned run, even with the runner starting on second in both innings. He struck out two, got the Mariners to ground into a double play, and also generated a flyout and a groundout to get through his work before Jacob Barnes allowed the Rowdy Tellez grand slam in the top of the 12th, sending Mariners fans home happy.

Overall, the trend seems to support that Rodriguez thrives more in these situations, something Schneider acknowledges.

While the Jays may need some length in the open starter’s spot until Scherzer is healthy, it appears Eric Lauer and Jose Urena will continue to split the work, or another outside option may be getting some consideration over Rodriguez. Considering the metrics this season, that might not be such a bad idea.