MINNEAPOLIS -- Emmanuel Rodriguez’s moment in the Majors finally arrived on Saturday afternoon -- and he’s already living up to the hype.
The Twins’ No. 5 prospect was called up from Triple-A St. Paul and made his MLB debut against the Guardians at Target Field. After being limited to 353 career Minor League games in six seasons due to several injury setbacks since his professional debut in 2021, Rodriguez was intent on making his impact known right away.
And he did just that.
In his first MLB at-bat in the bottom of the third, Rodriguez hit a Statcast-projected 420-foot home run on a 2-1 fastball off right-hander Franco Aleman to tie the game at 1-1.
Rodriguez became the first Twin since Eddie Rosario in 2015 to hit a home run in his first plate appearance, and the first Twin since his teammate Kaelen Culpepper on Aug. 7 to hit a home run in his first MLB game.
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“Very exciting, and full disclosure, I cried,” Rodriguez said through teammate Pablo López on how he reacted to the call-up news Friday night. “When I got the news, I called my family, so it's been pretty hectic, pretty crazy, but completely and absolutely special."
Rodriguez, 23, has slashed .262/.414/.500 with six doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 33 RBIs, 36 runs scored and a .914 OPS in 49 games for the Saints this season.
The Santiago, Dominican Republic, native was signed by the Twins in July 2019.
“Number one, he has played well and deserves to be here,” said Twins manager Derek Shelton. “Number two, I think we want to get an opportunity to get a look at him going into next year.”
Rodriguez kept a big smile through all the tears on Friday night into Saturday morning. His wife and son were present with him at their St. Paul apartment Friday night when the call came through. Then the news spread like crazy among his family, with his parents and an aunt and uncle expected in the crowd alongside his wife and son.
Rodriguez sustained a UCL sprain in his left thumb on May 1, sliding headfirst to beat a play at first base. Without that injury, Rodriguez could have seen his MLB debut much earlier in the season.
“It was a real conversation,” said Twins GM Jeremy Zoll. “It was definitely a topic on our minds, all the different factors. Unfortunately, it didn't go that way with the injury. Once he had to get through that whole rehab process, we wanted to make sure we got him into a number of games to get his feet back under him and go from there.”
As much as it was a topic of discussion for the Twins front office in late April/early May, the thought had also dwelled on Rodriguez’s mind for a moment while he was on the IL from May to early August. But he didn’t let it become a fixation.
"Everything happens at the right time. Earlier in the year, before the injury, I knew it was going to be my time, my moment. Things happen, but everything works out the way it's supposed to work out,” Rodriguez said.
Since returning from the IL, Rodriguez has put up a .275/.411/.495 slash line with five home runs, 15 RBIs and four stolen bases over 24 games. He also hit for the cycle in order on Sept. 1 in Omaha.
“When he got back, and he hit the ground running, I believe it was probably one of the better versions we’ve seen of Emmanuel since I’ve known him in Rookie ball,” said Triple-A St. Paul hitting coach Shawn Schlechter. “He’s just a skilled player. He’s got some elite power, some of the most raw power in our org, if not the most.”
“I think the combination of things — the ability to have speed and power and controlling the zone. I think those three aspects of his game are why we really like him as a player,” said Shelton.
Rodriguez batted ninth and played center field for his MLB debut. While many fans will be excited to see the skill set at the plate, Rodriguez will keep in mind the one thing that’s made the game so important to him over the years: Having fun.
"After all these hard-working years and all the time it's taken, I still want to enjoy myself. It's going to be a big moment, but I just want to take the field, enjoy and do my baseball thing."
To make room for Rodriguez on the 26-man roster, the Twins optioned infielder Ben Ross to St. Paul. Ross made his Major League debut on Sept. 1 and went 0-for-4 with one run scored in three games for Minnesota.