Paco Rodriguez was one of baseball’s top relief pitchers in 2013 in his first full season.

Jon SooHoo/©Los Angeles Dodgers, LLC 2013

By Cary Osborne

Paco Rodriguez has never met Mark Mulder. He has never spoken on the phone to the veteran pitcher who’s making a comeback with the Angels in 2014. But the Dodger reliever is flattered by what Mulder said about him.

In a story that circulated this winter, Mulder, a two-time All-Star who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2008, said that his return to baseball was triggered by watching Rodriguez pitch.

Rodriguez, whose crane-like delivery is unorthodox yet effective, is well aware of Mulder’s comments.

“Out of everybody who plays baseball, he’s looking at my mechanics, and I think it’s an amazing honor just to be in talks with him,” Rodriguez said. “I can’t wait till Spring Training. Hopefully I’ll get to sit down and just talk about it, talk about baseball and his experiences — good and bad.

“It’s a great story in my opinion because I watched that guy when I was little. He was always one of those guys when he was going good not a lot of guys could hit him.”

Rodriguez’s delivery, where he lifts his knee to his chest, then raises the ball with his left hand as if showing the center fielder, is something he’s acquired since being picked by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. At the University of Florida, he had other quirks, such as lifting his front leg twice before delivering his pitch. But he was more deliberate to the plate.

“It actually happened during the big leagues,” Rodriguez said of his delivery. “The balls were a little slick, and I didn’t have the best grip. I had to get out early so I get on top of the ball. It’s something I put together, and it worked to have the season I had. It was something I thought I’d try out because I thought it would help me and it really helped me out tremendously.”

Rodriguez, who made his Major League debut in 2012 (the same year he was drafted out of the University of Florida), made the Opening Day roster for 2013 and stayed with the big league team the entire regular season. He ranked among the NL’s best relievers in ERA (2.32, 12th), opponents’ batting average (.164, third) and WHIP (0.90, sixth).

But in September, around the time his first child was born, he struggled for the first time in his Major League career. His WHIP in the month grew to 2.2, and he surrendered four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. The 22-year-old left-hander’s hiccups continued in two outings in the National League Division Series against the Braves, and he was left of the NLCS roster.

That’s given him motivation.

“The biggest thing I learned was trying to make it through a full season and be as consistent as possible,” Rodriguez said. “I think that was the biggest challenge — trying to stay mentally prepared everyday and physically capable of performing every day. It’s something I’ve never really experience in my life.

“It prepared me to the point where now I know what I need to do to keep myself in the best mindset and physical ability to perform every day.”

Rodriguez has been working hard in Florida in the offseason and not changing too much. His aim is the same — be Paco, unorthodox delivery and all, and be effective.