There was a strange sequence of events at LECOM Park this May that proved both how tough it is to be a catcher and how great of an impact a talented backstop can have on the game.
When a fastball got away from Brennan Malone, one of the Pirates’ best pitching prospects, it spelled trouble for his batterymate, Endy Rodriguez. The pitch caught Tigers prospect Nick Quintana on the right forearm and an awkward ricochet shot the ball square off Rodriguez’s left ear.
There was a brief delay as Bradenton manager Jonathan Johnston and medical staff tended to Rodriguez. After a couple minutes and a few sheets of paper towel pressed upon the ear to sop up some bleeding, the 21-year-old catcher stood up from his squat, gave a braces-covered smile from ear-to-ear and a nod to say he was ready to press on.
In the next at-bat, Quintana took off for second, Malone spun a slider to the top of the zone -- not the easiest pitch to throw on -- and Rodriguez threw a strike to second baseman Jase Bowen to end the inning.
There’s an obvious gap in positional depth when looking at Pirates prospect rankings .
It’s a system that’s strong on right-handed pitchers and shortstops -- which is a wonderful place to start -- but on the shorter side on outfielders and very lacking in depth at the catcher position.
That issue behind the plate isn’t something exclusive to the Pirates. Maybe the position will get a tremendous boost if the Pirates tab University of Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the No. 1 overall pick in next month’s draft. But until then, for a rebuilding team, it’s a deficiency that will put a tremendous amount of attention on the limited options available.
Fortunately for the Pirates, Rodriguez, who ranks as the most top catcher in the system, has been up to the task in low Class A so far throughout his first year in the organization.
“I can never forget the energy that he brought, and he's continued to bring that to this day. Just loves the game,” said Johnston in a phone interview this week. “It's not just loving playing in the games, he actually loves working to get better and develop himself.”
Rodriguez was brought on board as part of the trade that sent Joe Musgrove to the Padres. He had been in the Mets system since signing as a 18-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2018. But Ben Cherington spun off left-hander Joey Lucchesi, who was also included in the package from San Diego, to New York in order to land the switch-hitting Rodriguez.
“What we saw as an organization was an athletic guy that could swing the bat a little bit from both sides,” Johnston recalls. “Everything that we saw is what we're getting. So, those guys that scouted him and brought him over, I think they did an awesome job with all the background and all the information that we had on him.”
Rodriguez is listed as a catcher and outfielder, but in his only games not behind the plate this season he’s played first base. Which was a position with which he gained some familiarity in his two previous minor-league seasons with the Mets’ Rookie-level Dominican Summer League team.
Rodriguez has gotten off to an excellent start in his first year stateside. He’s batting .263/.354/.482 with six homers and 25 RBIs in 37 games with the Marauders. He collected six of those RBIs just this week and tallied three of his now eight total doubles. Rodriguez leads the club in hits (36) and doubles and owns a share of the lead in homers and RBIs.
The power -- which has mostly come from the left side of the plate -- is more than likely the product of maturing out of his teenage years. But it’s something that might be a difference-maker moving forward.
“There's obviously a lot of continued strength and development that he's going to have now and in the offseason. But the power is certainly there,” Johnston said. “And with anybody that has power, it's all about getting to it consistently. I think he's a really advanced hitter for his age, and with the way he works and his attitude and his intelligence, I think he will continue to grow.”
Among the other catchers in the system, Rodriguez's teammate in Bradenton, Eli Wilson, has posted by far the best numbers in a limited sample. Wilson, the son of former Mariners' catcher Dan Wilson, is batting .362/.519/.534 with a pair of homers, 11 RBIs and 18 runs scored in 20 games.
The only other Pirates' catchers in the minors actually having a pretty good season to date are both with Class AAA Indianapolis. Joe Hudson is batting .279 with a .792 OPS, and 29-year-old Christian Bethancourt, who shed his prospect status more than six years ago while playing in the Braves system. Bethancourt is batting .278 with a .794 OPS, though he's only played in three games behind the plate for Indianapolis.
Rodriguez was not made available for an interview as of Tuesday. But he is one of the first among all players in the organization to experience what it’s like to catch a game called with an automated strike zone.
Bradenton’s division uses the experimental ABS system for four out of their six games each week. Johnston feels this system has certainly created more consistency in ball and strike calls, and with that joyously removed some excuses and complaining. But it’s by no means a perfect system that hasn’t had much impact on the importance of framing and receiving skills and how the organization grooms catchers.
“We don't really know the future, and it's not like it's taking away from anything else,” Johnston said about continuing to train on pitch framing, even when there’s no umpire to fool. “When we receive, we're working on the same things that we would do for framing anyway because it helps us catch, it helps us in throwing -- catching the ball cleanly helps us throw. So, all that stuff still factors in.”
This is an interesting point to keep in mind when examining the future value of a player like Jacob Stallings, whose improved pitch framing helped provide another lease on life in the majors after being designated for assignment in 2016. Even if the “robo umps” do come to the big leagues, and folks are screaming for it almost every day, there’s still value to that skill.
Either way, Rodriguez represents the best option in the pipeline to maybe one day take over for the now-31-year-old Stallings behind the plate.
MORE PROSPECT NOTES
• Oneil Cruz saw his 21-game on-base streak come to an end Sunday. Cruz is hitting .300 with nine doubles, three triples and eight home runs on the season. For as good as his bat has been for Altoona this season, the glove is starting to come around too as he made a plethora of spectacular plays throughout the week including this one.
Good evening, here is Oneil Cruz stealing a base hit from Dylan Rosa. pic.twitter.com/IuluJsDGFp
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) June 20, 2021
The glove has always been there for Cruz, but his arm accuracy is what they've been working on most and judging by his throw there, it seems like it should be working.
• It'll be an interesting time for Cruz to get a little more comfortable at the shortstop position. Cherington explained that the leadership among the organization is mapping out a plan to begin "bouncing" Cruz around to different positions. Mainly in the outfield. -- Gilberto
• While no longer officially a prospect, keep an eye on Anthony Alford. He is on an absolute tear right now, hitting .407 with five home runs and 17 walks over his last 18 games. “The biggest thing, first and foremost, is the confidence and the mindset,” Alford said on what’s different now. “I’ve worked with Nuns [hitting coach Jon Nunnally] and we’ve talked about a few things. Not any drastic, mechanical changes. Just positions I need to get to as far of separation, getting my body in a better position.” -- Alex Stumpf
• Playing everyday is also helping him out, not just in terms of rhythm, but not pressing on those limited opportunities, like he had early in the season when he was splitting time with Dustin Fowler. “You feel like everything you’re going to do is getting judged,” Alford said. “Not saying that’s the case, but that’s the internal feeling we have as players.” In this reporter’s opinion, Alford looks a lot more relaxed now, especially when compared to the guy he was in Pittsburgh back in April. -- Stumpf
• Canaan Smith-Njigba became the seventh Altoona player with four hits in a game Sunday against Erie. Smith-Njigba, who came to the organization in the Jameson Taillon trade, is now slashing .282/.397/.418 on the season. He only has 10 extra-base hits with eight doubles and two home runs. But his average is up to .351 in June following a month in which he batted only .217. The 22-year-old outfielder enters the week riding an eight-game hit streak. -- Jarrod Prugar
• Don’t be shocked if we see Cody Ponce make a spot start before the All-Star break. The Pirates are about to start a stretch of 20 consecutive games with no off-days, and a spot start or two will probably be required. Ponce has been Mr. Spot Start the past two years with the Pirates, and while his 5.29 ERA is definitely up there, he is coming off a seven-inning gem on June 17 where he allowed just one run and struck out nine. What’s different for Ponce when things click? “The biggest thing for him is just staying out of his own way,” Indianapolis pitching coach Joel Hanrahan said. “He likes to overthink the situation and throw some unnecessary pitches up there.” Ponce allowed four runs over five innings in his last spot start on May 25. -- Stumpf
• Rodolfo Castro continued his tear through Class AA with this monster shot Sunday.
Rodolfo Castro smashes his 9th homer of the year in the first inning and we have a 2-0 lead!!
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) June 20, 2021
LISTEN: https://t.co/aioWvW3Svf pic.twitter.com/ofGuiHx6XR
The home run was his team-leading ninth bomb of the year and Castro is now leading the team with a .316 batting average. A switch-hitter, Castro is hitting .380 in June. Castro has recorded a hit in 13 of Altoona's 18 games this month and reached base safely in all but nine of the 41 games total. -- Prugar
• Omar Cruz spun a gem in his last start June 18 for Greensboro, going six innings of two-hit, one run ball while striking out five. He has now allowed one run or fewer in four of his seven starts this year and is leading all Pirates lefty minor-league pitchers with 38 strikeouts. One of five players the Pirates got back in the Musgrove trade, there are some concerns of if Cruz’s low-90s fastball can play in the Majors, but he has a good, loopy curve and a plus changeup. He wasn’t the main player in that Musgrove trade, but he appears to be taking a step in his development in the very deep Greensboro rotation. -- Stumpf
TOP 10 PROSPECTS
Jarrod, Gerard and Alex each selected their top prospects in the system. Stay tuned for more lists to be released this week, including rankings by position, tools and more.
1. Nick Gonzales, 2B
2. Quinn Priester, RHP
3. Oneil Cruz, SS
4. Liover Peguero, SS
5. Roansy Contreras, RHP
6. Hudson Head, OF
7. Miguel Yajure, RHP
8. Brennan Malone, RHP
9. Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP
10. Travis Swaggerty, OF
OFFICIAL LINKS
• Affiliate scores
• Indianapolis
• Altoona
• Greensboro
• Bradenton
YOUR TURN: We'd love to hear from you, too, especially if you make it out to see any of these prospects and affiliates play. Feel free to file your own original scouting reports and other observations in comments.
