The St. Louis Cardinals might have a franchise-altering prospect on their hands in Raniel Rodriguez.
The teenage phenom, who was recently promoted to Double-A, has already homered at his new level. In 32 total minor league games across two levels, the hard-hitting backstop has a .931 OPS and five long balls.
Cardinals’ experts are starting to take notice of the up-and-comer and his prolific power tool.
Cardinals’ Analysts Can’t Get Enough of Raniel Rodriguez
Before the season, Adam Akbani, a writer for Just Baseball Media and contributor to the DealintheCards podcast, had high praise for Rodriguez.
“I think Raniel Rodriguez is the future of St. Louis Cardinals baseball,” said Akbani. “This guy put up 113mph exit velocities. For a guy [his age], that is absurd. I would feel comfortable, if all goes well, ranking him as a top 10-15 prospect in all of baseball.”
Since joining the Springfield Cardinals (Double-A), Rodriguez has recorded five hits in four games.
In addition to Akbani, Alex Ferrario of BK & Ferrario on 101espn (with Brandon Kiley), made it clear that he’s all in on Rodriguez. Here’s what Ferrario had to say:
“He’s dominating that High-A pitching. This tells me they think A: his bat is ready to move up a level and take a significant step up to Double-A, and that it’s special at 19 years old. Guys like [Dylan] Carlson and [Jordan] Walker were guys that were highly regarded around baseball as prospects.”
Ferrario continued, “It makes me wonder if they’re eventually gonna have the conversation of if this bat is so special, we should move him off the catching position. Now, where that is depends on how good of an athlete he really is. Could you move him to, whether it be first base, left field, or potentially as your long-term answer? We know Nootbaar’s probably not that. I think you’re talking about another two years, probably in the minor leagues, but with his bat and the way that their actions are speaking, I wonder if they’ll try to speed up the process to get him [to St. Louis].”
Ferrario’s point about Rodriguez vacating the catching position is an interesting one. Right now, St. Louis rosters three catchers on the big club, and also holds high-level backstop prospects in Jimmy Crooks and Leo Bernal. If Rodriguez maintains his current pace, he could force the Cardinals’ hand.
Raniel Rodriguez Will Force a Decision: One Way or Another
Whether it’s trading away either Crooks or Bernal, moving on from big league pieces, or changing his position, the Cardinals will have to find space for the teenage phenom.
The last Cardinals’ prospect with the raw power that Rodriguez has is currently tearing it up for St. Louis. Walker, who was the team’s number one prospect before his debut in 2022, has a 182 OPS+ in his first 165 at-bats.
In a recent series of events, the Cardinals ended up with a ‘tarps-off’ section in the right field bleachers. Walker has all but legitimized his breakout campaign. Fans who waved their shirts above their heads, signaling for a Redbird rally, verbally congregated to chant ‘M-V-P!’ in unison when the towering Walker stepped up to bat. If this is evidence of anything, it’s that St. Louis can produce elite homegrown talent.
President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom will have to learn from past regimes. He’ll demonstrate his newfound knowledge by not rushing Rodriguez to The Show. When the burly backstop arrives, however, he’ll bring a barrage of bombs, excitement to an already sky-high team, and another power bat for Cardinals’ fans to groggle over.
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