Wilfredo Rodriguez Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Wilfredo Jesus Rodriguez
Born 01/25/1994 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Profile Ht.: 5'10" / Wt.: 200 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Puerto Rico Baseball Academy
Drafted in the 7th round (228th overall) by the Colorado Rockies in 2012 (signed for $185,000).

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Rodriguez has a stocky 5-foot-10, 210-pound frame. His best tool is his bat. He has a short, compact swing with a knack for centering the ball and has performed well in big tournaments. Rodriguez has a flat swing plane and is a gap-to-gap, line-drive hitter. Like most catchers, he is a 20 runner on the 20-80 scouting scale. Rodriguez shows average arm strength, but is just an adequate defender and will need to work on his agility and blocking. Scouts believe he'll be able to handle the grind of catching in pro ball because he's a hard worker with good makeup. He has good baseball instincts, works well with his pitchers and is bilingual. Rodriguez is signed with Seminole State (Fla.) JC, but is expected to turn pro.

Top Rankings

Rodriguez was a teammate at the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy of shortstop Carlos Correa, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Astros. The Rockies took Rodriguez six rounds later and signed him for $185,000, sending him to the Pioneer League, where he was the youngest catcher in the league but more than held his own. Club officials said he was easily the hardest worker on the Grand Junction team and extremely coachable. Rodriguez has a compact stroke but swings at just about anything. He makes steady, solid contact, however, which is rare for an 18-year-old who will often venture outside the strike zone. Against better pitching, he will need to refine his plate discipline. He has learned to hit against, rather than over his front foot and should develop enough power to hit 10-15 homers annually with a lot of doubles. Rodriguez overcame the habit of dropping his target and then raising it and has already become a much calmer receiver. His blocking needs work simply because as an amateur he caught few pitchers with decent velocity. He showed an above-average arm early in the season before starting to wear down, and he threw out 21 percent of basestealers in his pro debut. He's a bottom-of-the-scale runner. Rodriguez should develop into an average catcher whose strength will be his bat. He could begin 2013 in low Class A.

Rodriguez has a stocky 5-foot-10, 210-pound frame. His best tool is his bat. He has a short, compact swing with a knack for centering the ball and has performed well in big tournaments. Rodriguez has a flat swing plane and is a gap-to-gap, line-drive hitter. Like most catchers, he is a 20 runner on the 20-80 scouting scale. Rodriguez shows average arm strength, but is just an adequate defender and will need to work on his agility and blocking. Scouts believe he'll be able to handle the grind of catching in pro ball because he's a hard worker with good makeup. He has good baseball instincts, works well with his pitchers and is bilingual. Rodriguez is signed with Seminole State (Fla.) JC, but is expected to turn pro.

The youngest catcher in the league, Rodriguez is far from a finished product by showed glimpses of the talent that could make him a big league regular. Using a short stroke built for line-drive contact, he batted .319. He presently has gap power but could produce more home runs if he adds some loft to his swing. Rodriguez has an average arm but threw out just 21 percent of basestealers because he needs to improve his footwork. While his receiving will require more attention as well, he has the work ethic to make it behind the plate. He's a well below-average runner.