The New York Yankees' 9-3 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night was most notable for the lineup's late surge. However, what shouldn't be overshadowed is Elmer Rodriguez's strong performance on the mound.

The Bronx Bombers called up Rodriguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday to make a spot start. He responded with the best outing of his young major league career by far. The 23-year-old righty previously had a 4.76 ERA with 11 walks against only 10 strikeouts in his first four MLB starts, but his fifth start was a much different story: Rodriguez pitched into the seventh inning and allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out six.

Rodriguez allowed three runs in his start and is still looking for his first career win, but the only real mistake was giving up a home run to Daulton Varsho in the fourth inning. The first run scored on a Jose Altuve RBI double, thanks to a misplay by Trent Grisham in center field, while the walk he issued in the seventh inning before being pulled came around to score on an error by George Lombard Jr.

Outside of those blips, Rodriguez looked firmly in command throughout the night. Thanks to having significantly better control over his pitches, the right-hander was efficient and needed just 83 pitches to complete six innings. Rodriguez's velocity was also noticeably higher than in his past MLB appearances, with his sinker hitting as high as 98 mph. He paired that with nasty curveballs and sweepers to keep Houston's lineup off-balance.

Elmer Rodriguez is MLB ready

Just like with any young pitcher, there are still areas where Rodriguez can improve. However, the Yankees should keep him at the major-league level and not option him back to Triple-A, as his start on Wednesday night was the final test to prove he's ready.

After his previous big-league start against the Cincinnati Reds on June 21, Rodriguez made nine starts in Triple-A and showed consistent improvement over each one. He did struggle with walks at first (as he did in his brief MLB action before Wednesday), but eventually settled down, logging a 2.14 ERA and 3.34 FIP in 46.1 innings while striking out 48 batters.

In the last five starts before his latest call-up, Rodriguez tossed 26 innings and allowed only four runs. He additionally racked up 29 strikeouts against just eight walks. The form he showed in those games carried over to his start against the Astros, finally showing the Yankees his true capabilities firsthand.

Rotation or bullpen?

Of course, the Yankees would need a clear role for Rodriguez if they are going to keep him in the big leagues. With the postseason rotation likely consisting of Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, and Carlos Rodon, Rodriguez would certainly slot into the bullpen when October rolls around.

But in the meantime, the young right-hander should stay in the rotation and replace Will Warren. Warren has been completely unreliable for over two months, with an ugly 5.65 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) dating back to June 8. Another middling performance against Houston on Tuesday didn't do much to help his case.

Rodriguez still has untapped upside compared to Warren, and his performances over the past month indicate he is trending upwards rather than downwards. At this point in the season, every game is important if the Yankees want to secure an optimal position in the postseason, so they should ride the hot hand and see if Rodriguez's continued development can be an X-factor towards their push for a pennant.