A pair of top Cardinals prospects helped drive High-A Peoria to a walk-off, 7-6 win over Wisconsin on Thursday at Dozer Park.
Yhoiker Fajardo, a piece of this offseason’s Willson Contreras trade, continued his strong start on the mound with five innings on one-run ball, striking out seven and walking none. His battery mate Rainiel Rodriguez had his back, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs -- including a key ninth-inning knock.
St. Louis’ No. 12 prospect, worked around three hits in Thursday’s outing and had his whole arsenal working, getting strikeouts on his fastball, changeup and slider. It was the second straight outing with seven K’s for the 19-year-old righty. He has not allowed more than one earned run in any of his six starts this year, good for a 1.46 ERA.
Rodriguez, the Cardinals’ No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 30 overall, capped a three-run third inning for Peoria with a bloop single to center field. Not known for speed, he also recorded his fourth steal of the year in the third, already matching his 2025 total.
COMPLETE CARDINALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Rodriguez singled and was stranded at first in the fifth before helping the Chiefs rally for four runs in the bottom of the ninth. The 19-year-old catcher rocketed a bases-loaded, ground-ball single up the middle to score a pair. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Rodriguez then came home as the winning run on a Jalin Flores single.
Rodriguez is sporting a strong .316/.437/.541 slash line with four home runs through 26 games.