In a ranking of the top 25 prospects in the Florida Complex League so far this season by Baseball America’s Josh Norris, Red Sox minor league catcher Jorge Rodriguez claimed the No. 7 spot.
Rodriguez, 19, has opened eyes on both sides of the ball in his first season stateside. The native Venezuelan originally signed with the Red Sox for just $10,000 as an international free agent coming out of Maracay in January 2024. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League last June but did little to stand out on paper, as he slashed .258/.333/.280 (76 wRC+) with no home runs and seven RBIs in 31 games.
This year has been a different story for Rodriguez. Even when taking a slightly delayed start and a chilly July to this point into consideration, the right-handed hitter is still slashing .296/.367/.420 (114 wRC+) with one double, three home runs, 17 RBIs, 10 runs scored, eight stolen bases, eight walks, and 16 strikeouts through 27 games (90 plate appearances) for the rookie-level FCL Red Sox.
Among the 142 FCL hitters who had made at least 90 trips to the plate coming into play on Wednesday, Rodriguez ranked 10th in batting average, 17th in slugging percentage, 26th in OPS (.787), 32nd in wOBA (.385), 35th in strikeout rate (17.8 percent), and 46th in wRC+, per FanGraphs.
Defensively, Rodriguez has primarily been splitting time behind the plate with fellow countryman Gerardo Rodriguez for Boston’s FCL affiliate. The 5-foot-10, 147-pound backstop has logged 93 innings there thus far, throwing out 16 of 41 possible base stealers, allowing two passed balls, and committing three errors in 103 chances. He has also made 11 starts at DH.
Rodriguez, Norris wrote on Wednesday, “is the FCL’s premier catch-and-throw artist, with an arm capable of regularly producing pop times well under 1.90 seconds. His pure arm strength is at least double-plus, with the only knock being how well the operation will hold up against the rigors of a full season.
“Despite a smaller stature, Rodriguez does an excellent job of finding the barrel and producing solid or better exit velocities,” added Norris. “In the end, he could be an average hitter with fringe-average power and the kind of arm that puts the brakes on attempted base burglars.”
Rodriguez, who just turned 19 in February, is not currently regarded among Boston’s top prospects by Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, or FanGraphs. He did, however, recently debut on SoxProspects.com’s top 60 list at No. 44, which ranks third among catchers behind only Johanfran Garcia (No. 36) and Brooks Brannon (No. 41).
In addition to Rodriguez, outfielder Enddy Azocar (No. 13) and right-hander Yhoiker Fajardo (No. 20) made Norris’ top 25 Florida Complex League prospect rankings as well. Both have received promotions to Low-A Salem in recent weeks, and with the FCL season winding down, Rodriguez is likely not too far behind them.
(Picture of Jorge Rodriguez: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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