Yankees SP Carlos Rodón is set to the miss the start of the regular season due to a forearm strain, an injury that the 30-year-old sustained in early March. Should that injury make fantasy players wary of the uber-talented pitcher who does have a significant injury? Not so fast, especially given the positive news that Yankees fans received regarding the lefty this past weekend.

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A Look at Rodón

We’ve written ad nauseum over the past couple of months about Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón‘s standout 2022 campaign. Rodón posted the highest K/9 rate in the league last year, thanks to his hard fastball/slider combination that tripped up hitters with regularity. The 30-year-old struck out 237 batters over just 178 innings, third-most in all of baseball. Only Brewers ace Corbin Burnes (243) and Rodón’s new Yankees teammate Gerrit Cole (257) had more strikeouts than the lefty last season.

Rodón inked a six-year deal with the Yankees this offseason, but he only made one Spring Training start before going down to an forearm strain. The Yankees have already stated that he will start the season on the IL, joining a long list of injured players that includes relievers Lou Trivino and Tommy Kahnle, SP Frankie Montas, and OF Harrison Bader.

The good news, though, is that Rodón seems to be on the right track. This past weekend, Rodón resumed throwing after being shut down earlier in the month. Yankees manager Aaron Boone stated afterwards that he felt no pain after the throwing session, a very positive sign as the Yankees prep for Opening Day,

What to Make of Him

The forearm strain that Rodón was, understandably, concerning to hear. Rodón’s injury history, coupled with a correlation between a forearm strain and Tommy John surgery, had to have given some fantasy players some pause on whether or not to take the talented, yet risky left-hander.

Still, the fact that Rodón has resumed throwing and not feeling any pain is a major boon for both Yankees fans and fantasy owners. While the star left-hander won’t begin the season in New York, he should be able to stay on course to make his debut shortly after the start of the regular season if can ramp up without any pain.

Of course, a lot can change. But given Rodón’s current draft rankings — the left-hander is currently ranked #153 in Yahoo! leagues, for example — it’s hard not to salivate at the chance of grabbing arguably a top-25 player with immense fantasy potential later in the draft, at the cost of a couple of regular season starts.