2014 Dodgers review: Paco Rodriguez

Here is a look back at a season of missed opportunity for left-hander Paco Rodriguez.

What went right

Rodriguez struck out 35 in his 28⅔ innings with Triple-A Albuquerque, leading the Isotopes with 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

In his brief time in the majors, Rodriguez struck out 26.4 percent of his hitters faced, fifth among 17 Dodgers relievers in 2014, and above the 22.6-percent strikeout rate for all National League relievers.

Rodriguez allowed left-handed batters to hit just .241/.290/.379 with 11 strikeouts and two walks in 31 plate appearances. But he was effective against right-handers too, holding them to .263/.333/.316

What went wrong

Rodriguez after being one of the most trusted relief pitchers in Don Mattingly's bullpen in 2013, until a late-season collapse, the left-hander found himself most often in 2014 on the outside looking in, spending most of his season in Triple-A.

In addition to his 4.40 ERA and 4.85 FIP in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Rodriguez walked a career-worst 13.5 percent of his batters faced with the Isotopes.

Rodriguez missed six weeks in August and September with a teres major muscle strain, the same injury that sidelined Clayton Kershaw earlier in the year. Rodriguez nearly pulled things together in time for an addition to the postseason bullpen, but wasn't able to show effectiveness to pitch on consecutive days, and was left off the NLDS roster.

2014 particulars

Age: 23

Salary: $512,500; pro-rated for his time in the majors.

Game of the year

On August 3 against the Cubs, Rodriguez pitched two scoreless innings for his longest outing of the season in the majors. He retired all five batters he faced, including two by strikeout, and picked off his one inherited runner.

In 91 stole base opportunities against Rodriguez in 2012-2013 (defined by Baseball-Reference.com as plate appearances with a runner on first and/or second with the next base open), he picked off no runners, but in 2014 he picked off two of his 19 runners with a stolen base opportunity.

Roster status

Rodriguez has one year, 120 days of service time, and has two option years remaining