Hector Rodriguez - 6/13/23

Rodriguez was a sleeper in the Reds organization heading into the year, but his loud contact at the plate has made scouts take notice

Prospect Spotlight 🔦

Hector Rodriguez CF/LF – Age: 19 – B/T: L/R, 5’8’’ 186 – Reds (Low-A)

• Born: 3/11/2004 (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)

• Acquired: IFA 2021 (Mets), Trade (Reds)

Last Thursday, Geoff Pontes of Baseball America tweeted out that there are only three players aged 19 and younger with a wRC+ greater than 135, Justin Crawford, Carlos Jorge, and Hector Rodriguez. Given that I’ve written about the first two, I thought I would complete the set and look closer at Hector Rodriguez today.

While not an insignificant part of the Mets 2021 international class, not much noise was made when Hector Rodriguez signed with New York. Nevertheless, he started his pro career strong with a .301/.376/.472 line in the Dominican Summer League in 2021, which earned him a promotion stateside in 2022. With the Mets Complex League team, he showed speed, contact ability, and some power, hitting .349/.381/.547 and three home runs in 113 plate appearances. While a strong start, the Mets were fine dealing him, along with Jose Acuna, to the Reds in exchange for Tyler Naquin and Phillip Diehl. After the trade, Rodriguez finished up his season with Low-A Daytona, hitting a respectable .289/.319/.467 in 47 plate appearances.