Hector Rodriguez is playing a long way from home, and it’s been tough at times without family. The Reds No. 5 ranked prospect hails from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, which is well over 1,600 miles from Louisville Slugger Field.
Growing up, Rodriguez was a star baseball player in his homeland, but he just played it for fun. Once he hit 13-years-old, the game became more of a serious priority. Rodriguez realized he might be talented enough to play baseball professionally to provide for his family, which is what he cared about the most.
“I started figuring it out at 13, because when I was 11 or 12, it was fun, but the adversities at home, family not having money, I started thinking bigger,” Rodriguez said, with coach Peterson Plaz translating. “I realized I needed to support my family.”
Rodriguez had to learn manhood at a young age and leaned heavily on baseball to support his family in the Dominican Republic.
“My family is who I play for, and the first thing I play for is passion,” Rodriguez said. “I love the game, and in my head, I always have my family with me. That’s the second reason I play the sport, because of my family.”
Family has carried him a long way, and they’ll continue to carry him mentally into the show. When Rodriguez makes the big leagues, it’ll be a proud moment for him and his family, but sadly, his uncle will not be there to see it.
“He is not alive, but he’ll be the proudest when I accomplish it,” Rodriguez said. “He’ll be the first person I think of.”
With how Rodriguez has played throughout his young career, it’s a matter of when, not if, he’ll make the Major Leagues at this point.
After years of dominating in the Dominican Republic, he signed his first contract with the New York Mets at the age of 17. After a strong year and a half within the Mets organization, the Cincinnati Reds traded for him near the 2022 MLB trade deadline as part of the deal that sent Tyler Naquin and Phillip Diehl to New York. At just 18 years old, less than two years into professional baseball, Rodriguez had to relearn a lot.
“It shocked me at first because I had to leave my friends and teammates,” Rodriguez said. “Of course, because it was a new organization and I had to make adjustments, but we adjusted, and we’re here.”
Rodriguez played well through his first few seasons in the Reds organization and rose quickly through the system. His fantastic play has him one step away from his name being called to the big leagues, and for good reason. He hit .283/.336/.450 through 135 games between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville last season, which earned him a 40-man roster spot before he began the 2026 season. He racked up career highs in homers (19), RBI (65), walks (40), and hits (149) in 2025, but he’s not finished there.
This season, Rodriguez has been one of the mainstays for a strong Bats offense. He’s first in runs scored for the Bats, as well as placing second in doubles, hits, and walks. At the start of play on June 10, he’s batting .273 with a .822 OPS, and best of all, he’s been consistent. He’s hit five homers and driven in 12+ runs in both April and May, and has turned in notable individual performances.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, May 27, Rodriguez caught fire at the plate and broke a personal record. He put together a three-homer game, the first of his baseball career. Best of all, the first homer never left the yard. He smashed a shoulder-high fastball 389 feet off the top of the wall in right-center field and was off to the races. The ball crashed off the tall brick wall and bounced back toward the infield, far away from any defender.
“While rounding second base, I thought I was going to stop at third,” Rodriguez said. “I saw the coach waving me home, and I thought, I’ve got to score.”
As Rodriguez raced home, the throw to the plate was well up the third-base line, leaving Rodriguez all alone at home, where his headfirst dive ended the race to the plate.
“I was very surprised I scored,” he recalled.
Later in the game, he stepped up to the plate in the seventh against a tough St. Paul lefty with two home runs and a single already under his belt.
“I wasn’t thinking about hitting another home run, I just wanted to hit the ball, and that’s what happened,” Rodriguez said of his third home run, which would prove to be the game-winner.
Three homers, a single, and a walk combined to be the first time he reached base five times in a game since May 27, 2023, while with the Single-A Daytona Tortugas.
As he’s continued to improve and post fantastic numbers, Rodriguez inches closer toward the big leagues. Louisville has seen multiple outfielders get the call to play in Cincinnati this season. While it hasn’t been his turn yet, Rodriguez is still focused on the game right in front of him in Louisville.
“I just need to keep competing, because that’s what I can control,” Rodriguez said.
He’s certainly hitting like someone who is focused solely on controlling what he can control. Rodriguez just finished his first .300+ batting average month sinc July of last season, with a .305 performance in May. He scored 18 runs and recorded 32 hits, which were second and third for the Bats last month. A big key for Rodriguez this season has been his increased walk rate. It climbed from 5.2% over 53 games in Triple-A last season, to 10.9% over 60 games this season.
At this rate, there’s no reason the 22-year-old couldn’t get a big-league call later this season. When he does get the promotion, all those years working late hours at the ball field, perfecting his craft to provide for his family will have paid massive dividends.