MiLB's BA leader picks up 3 more hits, drives in 5 at Double-A
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Catcher Caden Bodine was already the leader in batting average among all full-season Minor Leaguers coming into Tuesday's game with Double-A Montgomery. He just decided to add to his lead a little bit.
Bodine, the Rays' No. 3 prospect and No. 92 overall in MLB, pounded out three singles, walked twice and drove in five runs during the Biscuits' 13-4 victory over Birmingham at DABOS Park. His average now sits at .356 for the year. Bodine has played at three levels this season and has hit .340 or better at all of them. He has a .353 average through 90 career Minor League games, and through 14 games at Double-A so far, he is slashing .340/.446/.453.
Bodine's five RBIs came on a fielder's choice in the second inning, run-scoring singles in the fourth and fifth innings, and a two-run knock in the seventh. It was the third time this season that Bodine drove in at least five runs in a game, and he has 69 RBIs in 2026. The two walks give him 34 this season next to only 20 strikeouts.
A first-round pick of the Orioles in the 2025 Draft, the switch-hitting backstop came over to the Rays in the Shane Baz trade last December. He was one of the best pitch-framers while in college at Coastal Carolina, and he should have the skills to stick behind the plate.
But it's his 60-grade hitting ability that is Bodine's top tool. He's been showing why all year long.