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It’s the second time he won it this month!
The real deal. Congratulations to Rainiel Rodriguez on being named Texas League Player of the Week after a monstrous week in North Little Rock where he hit a ridiculous .583.
Read more: https://t.co/oNpHn058lt pic.twitter.com/4tJYG6EO2A
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) August 24, 2026
Bling – I’m just playing with you. I find your views to sometimes be really interesting and other times just entertaining for the downright pessimism you can dispel. Either way, I enjoy hearing your voice here at The Cardinal Nation.
I am all for Rodriguez at third. He woud fill a Cardinal need as does Jesus Baez. He has very quick hands and is more mobile than most catchers.
I hope they send him to Memphis to finish the year. It would give him a good start for next year.
ONe of the most importand things for a player is to make adjustments and Rodriguez has proven over and over that he does that very well.
I feel that MLB and BA have him rated too low. That may
change in their next rankings. I also feel that Jesus Baez is under rated by TCN.It appears that the new coaching team and system is working well. A lot of the top prospects are finishing strong.
Sooner-I am all for anyone that can be above average at third for 2027. Not Blaze Jordan. I think Jesus Baez is our third baseman and Rainiel C in 2028. Maybe called up later next year like Joshua Baez.
I think when you have a prospect like rainiel, you should celebrate them as they move along. I dont think by doing so, that you are forgetting that hes just a prospect and the future isnt guaranteed. I also dont get into comparing one prospects rise vs another. Each is their own thing. Its an exciting time, best to enjoy it.
Couldn’t agree more Willie. Fact is, this is the most exiting part most of the time. Lots of disappointment involved with following prospects. Being an even average major league player, as you know, is really low odds for most of these guys. Rainiel looks special so far.
I fully admit that my knowledge of Rainiel Rodriguez consists of looking at stat sheets and watching video clips of him hitting home runs. That’s really about it. One thing I have noticed in his trots around the bases is that he can certainly fill out an uniform but it doesn’t appear to be all muscle.
I guess my question for those of you more informed is he really fit and agile enough to play the field or are we looking at another full time DH?
I don’t believe he is GScottar. He might be able to fake it through his younger 20’s. I believe he would have to make some changes though. Of course Pablo Sandoval survived as a good third baseman so there are exceptions.
My guess is he stays at catcher with some 1B and a bunch of DH.
That ws my assumption jnevel but I didn’t want to say so without getting input from others. I’m not saying that Rainiel is in Pablo Sandoval, Bartolo Colon, or Lance Lynn territory yet but I am saying that he might need to spend more time on the treadmill.
Rodriguez looks like the real deal. I am on the fence whether I’d like to see him get a promotion. He deserves it, but I think Springfield has a great chance with him to repeat as Texas League champs.
I’ve watched Doyle and others pitch to Rodriquez. He’s made a few mistakes, but to me he has a strong arm and passes my eye test defensively. But like any other young catcher he needs more reps behind the plate.
Kyle said on the podcast that he doesn’t think that RR’s defensive versatility plans are as specific (3B) as they are being reported.
This odd June 9 start date was clearly selected to make him look as good as possible, but the results over 2 1/2 months compared to all of MiLB are still very, very impressive.
C Rainiel Rodriguez (ranks among all 430 MiLB players with at least 200 PA) since June 9th:
.374 AVG (1st)
.433 OBP (12th)
.712 SLG (3rd)
1.145 OPS (1st)156 TB (2nd)
82 H (5th)
38 XBH (4th)
18 HR (T4th)
20 2B (T6th)The 19-year-old has accomplished this while playing as the… pic.twitter.com/BgcrvR8E8s
— Cardinals Player Development (@CardsPlayerDev) August 26, 2026
Lotsa words and speculation with nothing to back it up. Nothing you said was “reality”.
“Just finished Felipe Alou’s autobiography and he says it pretty simply – basically that the kid you see at 19 years old may look a lot different at 23, or 25 – sometimes for the better, sometimes not.” From bikemike’s comment on the Scouting thread.
I don’t just make stuff up, Brian. What I said is what Mr. Alou also said decades ago. Seeing as I have his book on my baseball book shelf it may have been one of the sources shaping my understanding. And as someone who observed first hand under my own roof 5 teenagers turn into 20 somethings I know that it is not something that only applies to baseball prospects. Projecting where a teenager is going to land is highly uncertain. And yes, that is reality.
Problem with that though is nobody is predicting anything. Also one can look better at 23 than 19 so its kind of one of those things that was said but really doesnt matter in the scheme of things regardless of who said it. All it points to is to be patient but there is nothing wrong with a little excitement.
edit. Couldn’t find the book. My son says I gave it to him at least 10 years ago and he thinks one of my brothers got it from him about 5 years ago. I would have sworn it was still there on the shelf.
Some years back, I’m thinking at winter warm up, but not sure, a speaker doing a few minutes in one of the rooms said something pertinent to this that stuck with me. He likened projecting a prospect to the way the weather guy has a cone projecting where the hurricane will hit and how strong it will be when it does. It starts out wide and gets narrower and more certainas it gets closer.
Would you not say Rainiel is getting closer though? He has shown AA isn’t a challenge for him and he has just one more step in the ladder to go in the minors.
Just because he is 19 doesn’t mean he is as uncertain as other 19 year olds in A ball which is where most of those comparisons are being made. Rainiel’s body is close to maximum projection in his weight and scouts don’t expect him to muscle up more. He physically matured at a much younger age than most guys.
Nothing against Mr. Alou, as he was a fine player and respected manager, but his view is also opinion, though probably based on years of observation. I don’t accept it as fact just because it appeared in print.
P.S. The quote bikemike shared was simply that some 19 year olds will be better physically at 23 and some will not. While it is impossible to argue with that vague but logical generalization, it gives us zero insight into Rodriguez’ future.
I was looking for something data driven that says studies indicate that x percent of 19 year olds’ bodies develop positively later and y percent don’t. A study that says a Double-A player is less projectable at age 19 than one at the same level who is four years older (23), for example. (I am especially skeptical of the latter point.)
There is uncertainty at every corner in player development. There is no dispute about that. But there should also be some order, some rules of thumb expectation based on data, not just personal observation that can vary by the individual.
None of these former 19-year-old Double-A stars washed out, though Vlad Jr. has been struggling in 2026 after five straight killer MLB seasons.
Best seasons by OPS from 19 year-olds in AA:
Vlad Guerrero Jr. – 1.120
Andruw Jones – 1.107
Gregg Jefferies – 1.021
Adrián Beltré – .992
Rainiel Rodriguez – .989 currentlyClosest comp overall is Beltre, but Rodriguez has substantially more power than AA Beltre did. #stlcards https://t.co/G7TF3uQooe
— Tim Nicolai (@tim_nicolai) August 26, 2026
If there is a lockout, thank goodness Rainel will not be affected. Bernal would not be sharing catching duty. Guys like Madris (1B) and Mendoza (3B) likely not there. Jesus Baez will be there, also with plenty of room as Saggese and Prieto will not be covering infield slots.
Good points, but the normal Rule 5 protection date is before 12/1 so there could a a lot of 40-man change beyond regular free agency. An extreme approach could be to DFA marginal 40-man guys so they can play next season. Of course, this assumes teams accept that there will be a long lockout and take action accordingly. All speculation…
But to your main point, yes Rainiel will play in 2027, which is good timing for him. Also, during a lockout, all Triple-A rosters will be weaker than usual, which should help a good hitter.
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