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Could third base be an option for #STLCards No. 1 prospect Rainiel Rodriguez? đź‘€
Today, Assistant GM Rob Cerfolio said that the club introduced Rodriguez to first base this season and “might” add other positions this offseason
He later mentioned third base specifically while… pic.twitter.com/JOWD5MUgeJ
— STL Sports Central (@STLSprtsCntrl) August 18, 2026
I am surprised there hasn’t been more chatter about this. What do you guys think about Rainiel getting time at 3B? Obviously the big league club needs stability at that position but can he do it?
I will be interested to see how he does of he plays 3B. No real risk on moving him there and it doesn’t hurt to see if he is acceptable defensively there instead of just jumping to an assumption that he can’t play there.
I’m not really a fan of that move but I guess it’s possible it could work out.
The team is going to have to figure out this catcher logjam. If it were me, and I’m probably in the extreme minority, I’d try to trade Crooks this offseason and consider dealing Herrera too if the offer is right. I’m ok keeping Herrera until the next deadline as well. Bernal should get 70% of the starts, with Pages and Herrera splitting the leftovers. At some point, we should try to get to Bernal & Rodriguez as the only 2 catchers on the roster with Rodriguez also playing a lot of DH. I’m not sour on Crooks. I just think Bernal is the better player all around.
I think the catcher situation needs to be sorted out as well. Either Crooks or Bernal need to be traded. Herrera should be DH/1B. He could spell Burly against certain lefties. I don’t have a strong opinion on Raniel at 3B. It doesn’t hurt to try but I am not a fan of sacrificing defense for offense. I just hope Rainiel doesn’t continue the recent Cardinal trend of catchers who had to be moved off of the position (Contreras, Herrera). It is fair to say that we all got spoiled by Yadi.
I was reading an article, not sure where it came from. But the author gave compelling reasons why it isnt that big a deal right now far as how many catchers we have. One of them mostly dhs, one is a lefty, other is a righty so can depend on pitcher we are facing. I dont think rodriguezs call up is imminent. Im sure if a great offer came for either crooks or maybe even benal they might jump on it but can afford to be patient.
gscottar said:
I just hope Rainiel doesn’t continue the recent Cardinal trend of catchers who had to be moved off of the position (Contreras, Herrera).
It isn’t a recent trend only. Joe Torre and Todd Zeile come to mind from decades past. As long as the bat plays, they’ll make it work.
A problem with more than two catchers is the limitation of the four-man bench. Ideally, you have a reserve corner infielder and outfielder and a middle infielder and centerfielder on the bench, too.
Also, most managers would prefer to not tie up the DH position full-time as they want to use the position to rotate the other starters through DH to give them a partial day off.
Since June 8th Rodriguez is hitting .363/.432/.664 (259 plate appearances).
Even better, in 138 trips to the plate since July 9th he’s batting .407/.449/.780 while striking out just 14 times. This is a 19-year-old who is simply too good for Double-A pitchers. That kind of thing happens a couple times a decade, at most. (Vlad Jr. is the most recent example that springs to mind, and that was nearly 10 years ago.)
I’m all for trying Rai-Rod out at the hot corner over the offseason. While it would be nice to have the best-hitting backstop since Gene Tenace, as all here know, the Birds have a backstop glut in their system. When Sammy Hernandez (1.000 OPS for Peoria) is your 3rd or 4th-best catching prospect, that’s an embarrassment of riches. And as much as I like Blaze Jordan, I don’t think he’s going to be more than a 2-3 WAR type of guy going forward, and Rainiel’s bat gives him a considerably higher upside than that, at any position on the diamond.
My last recollection of a Cardinal this good this young at Double-A is Oscar Taveras, who in his 19-20 y/o season logged a .952 OPS, 23 HR, 94 RBI in 124 games for Springfield.
Oscar was Texas League MVP. But Rainiel might lose out to Josue De Paula (21), who is also having an exceptional year.
Definitely elite talents.
Yes, and some of them become MLB stars. Depends on whether your glass is half empty or half full. We know your view. They’re all overrated. Anything positive pointed out is derided as hype. Doesn’t it take the joy out of being a fan?
In Rodriguez’ case, you were quick to criticize the organization for promoting him to Springfield after he didn’t immediately hit. Once he took off, your narrative changed to “lots of players look good in the Texas League,” conveniently glossing over his level of success while still a teenager.
The truth is that lots of players in the Texas League do NOT do what Rodriguez is doing.
We know the Texas League has inflated numbers. But isn’t it still interesting when someone is the best (or 2nd best) hitter in that league and is only 19 years old?
We know that Texas League production doesn’t always (or even usually) translate to Major League production. But isn’t it still better to be a really good hitter in the Texas League as opposed to average or poor?
Bling, it feels like you dismiss all prospect stats as being irrelevant. Maybe it’s because you’ve been burned too many times. We all have. Being the best in a League is still far more predictive of future performance than being mediocre in a league. It’s ok to promote caution. Many of those guys still fail or turn out being just average. But the constant pessimism for every hitting prospect who does well gets redundant and doesn’t serve much purpose. You’re like Frank Deford’s “The Sports Curmudgeon” in the flesh.
Rodriguez is amazing, and only 19. He could be in the show before he can legally drink. A full year at Memphis next year (maybe a cup of coffee with them this year while they finish their year, and have their playoffs), and conceivably get a September call up possible.
Im def on the rodriguez train. Now the cardinals have to follow the process and not rush him. They need to decide on his position and stick with it. Id rather not have another whose only really good for dh. Personally i hope he stays primarily a catcher.
I think we could have cut and pasted this whole conversation from when Jimmy Crooks won Texas League player of the year. In neither case did I say the player wouldn’t be successful, only that it is a long way from AA to MLB, so keep your pants on and quit acting like giggling school girls when the star quarterback walks past.
I get it. On a site to talk about prospects, do not mention when they are doing well, only when they are performing poorly unless they are a pitcher who has never had an arm injury. Then it’s ok. Saying anything positive about anyone may be interpreted as exuberance or infatuation and has no place here amongst the Curmudgeons!
bling, Rainiel is a full step or two above the highest Crooks ever was evaluated as a prospect and multiple as a hitter. Scouts love Rainiel, the data geeks love Rainiel, and traditional stats folks love Rainiel as well. He passes whatever test with flying colors. There were a lot of questions on if Crooks would hit but scouts were really high on his defense.
C’mon, bling, don’t insult us like we can’t tell the difference.
Was Jimmy Crooks a Top 100 MLB prospect? Was he a Top 30 prospect? Oh yeah, the prospect raters don’t know anything.
Was Crooks 19 years old at Double-A? Well, Crooks being 5 1/2 years older means he is more mature. Being 19 only means Rodriguez has more time to fail.
In his entire Double-A season, Crooks hit 11 home runs. In Crooks’ best ever minor league season, he hit 14 homers. Rodriguez has 21 already in 2026, 17 at Double-A in fewer games than Crooks played there. Probably just dumb luck.
Albert, knock it off. There is no reason to celebrate hitting prospects on a prospect site. We all saw Saggese and Crooks win back to back players of the year in the Texas League and now they are AAAA players. As true Sports Curmudgeons, we know nothing good will ever come of any of this prospect hype nonsense. You should just stop paying attention to prospects altogether. They will all fail. Just post about broken pitchers and what you are having for din-din.
Thank You,
The Sports Curmudgeons
C’mon, bling, don’t insult us like we can’t tell the difference.
Nothing should be taken as an insult.
You wish to point out the difference beteeen the cases of Crooks and Rainiel. Yes, fine. But you only point out the aspects that bolster your position. Rainiel is 19 so his success in AA is amazing. Yes, but that is half of it and everyone conveniently ignores the other half. In this case it is perfectly well understood that projecting a college player and projecting a teenager are different animals. Very different, with the teen far more uncertain. The margin of error is much greater. Among other reasons, Rainiel’s body is not finished completing the transformation into what will be his adult body. Is is realistic to say that the player trying to succeed in MLB two years from now is not the same player being projected today. This aspect of projecting prospects has been understood forever. This being a prospect site does not mean we should only consider what floats our boat, in fact, we should not be doing that. Yes, he looks great, but the chance his career trajectory will veer from the projection is very great. Recognizing reality is not being a curmudgeon.
Lotsa words and speculation with nothing to back it up. Nothing you said was “reality”.
You assert that he is less projectible because he is younger, despite better results at the Double-A level. Show me something to validate this.
His body is not fully developed so you think there is more risk his body will become worse. Why are the odds lower that his body won’t develop into that of a better player? Show me some data.
That you honestly think these factors are “half” of his story, therefore equal in importance to his results at his age and level, is astounding. I am not ignoring them. I just feel they pale in comparison to the things we KNOW, which are his numbers.
At this point, you seem to be grasping at straws.
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