Rainiel Rodriguez has staked his claim as MLB's top catching prospect, and on Sunday, he showed why he's also one of the top young sluggers in the Minors -- regardless of position.
MLB's No. 32 prospect homered as he tied a season high with three hits in High-A Peoria's 11-1 win over Great Lakes on Sunday at Dow Diamond.
The Cardinals' No. 3 prospect showed off his right-handed thump, picking up a pair of singles off southpaw Jakob Wright, the Dodgers' 2024 fourth-rounder, before going deep off fellow righty Aidan Foeller.
Rodriguez's first knock was crushed to the warning track in the third inning, but left fielder Samuel Munoz quickly corralled the ball to limit him to one base, while his fifth-inning single bounced off the pitcher's glove. He absolutely walloped his home run to left-center, and he added a nice bat flip to boot.
After his eighth multihit performance of the season, the 19-year-old is slashing .306/.433/.529, and he's doing it as the youngest player at High-A -- more than three years younger than the average player in the Midwest League. He has nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (19), right in line with how he performed last year in his first campaign at full-season ball.
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Rodriguez stood out for his power last year when he went deep 20 times, second most in the Minors among teenagers after only Konnor Griffin (21). Fittingly, Griffin and Sebastian Walcott are the only prospects, in addition to Rodriguez, who have at least a 55-grade hit tool and a 65-grade power tool.
The home runs haven't been as common in 2026, with only three in 23 games, but the Dominican Republic native is still providing plenty of pop. In 16 games over his past three series, nine of his 17 knocks have gone for extra bases.
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Rodriguez may be better known for his bat than his defense, but he's been stronger on defense lately as well. The Loons did not attempt to steal on him Sunday, and he's caught 5 of 17 attempted base stealers (29.4 percent) during the past three series with no passed balls (albeit two errors).