MINNEAPOLIS -- Emmanuel Rodriguez has big-time power, but the Twins' No. 2 prospect doesn’t think of himself as a power hitter. And that’s the way the club likes it. Rodriguez, ranked No. 32 in the MLB Pipeline Top 100, grades out with 60 power on the 20-80 scouting scale, considered above Major League average. And after an injury-affected slow start with Triple-A St. Paul, he’s been showing it lately. Going into May 7, he had yet to homer. Over the next 12 games, he went deep four times, along with three doubles, a triple, and eight walks. Very little other than health slows Rodriguez down for long. “He had banged up his thumb again early in the season,” said Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll. “As is well documented, it’s cold in St. Paul, and sometimes it just takes guys a bit of time to get going. But he’s continuing to try to refine his swing mechanics, get to his best swing as often as possible. But he’s had a really nice couple weeks here and I think it’s a sign of really good things to come.” |
Rodriguez is still only 22, and he has fewer than 300 plate appearances above High-A ball. He’s still early in his baseball journey. But he shows an advanced approach at the plate. He strikes out a lot, but it’s not an indication of wild aggressiveness. In fact, it’s the opposite. Rodriguez has a tendency to be passive early in counts, putting himself in tough positions later in the at-bat. He has an excellent eye for the strike zone. Now the Twins want to see him swinging at more strikes early in counts. “He’ll find himself in a lot of two-strike counts without necessarily having gotten off as many swings as other guys might with zero or one strike,” Zoll said. “There’s just that balance of waiting till you get your pitch and taking some shots earlier in the count. He’s still finding that as he works his way through the upper levels.” |
The main thing for Rodriguez as he looks to make the short hop from St. Paul to Minneapolis, though, is experience. There’s very little doubt about his ability. But after an injury-hampered 2024, and missing time already this year, he just needs to play. And with that experience, the club believes, will come the other refinements that will turn him into the kind of hitter he can ultimately be. “We’ve just got to keep having him collect at-bats,” Zoll said. “With that, anything we can do to mitigate his strikeout rate, things he can do to mitigate his strikeout rate a little bit more are just going to set him up for being as successful as possible once he makes the jump to the Major League level.” |
|
|
Elsewhere in the Twins’ system… Double-A Wichita: Former Top 100 prospect Gabriel Gonzalez may be re-establishing himself after a rough 2024. Gonzalez, the Twins' No. 17 prospect, has four three-hit games in May alone, and recently earned a promotion from High-A to Double-A. Gonzalez was acquired from the Mariners in 2024 in the Jorge Polanco deal. High-A Cedar Rapids: Three top Draft picks from 2024 have been on-base machines for the Kernels. No. 4 prospect Kaelen Culpepper, who was picked 21st overall, ranks sixth in the Midwest League with a .414 on-base percentage. Kyle DeBarge (No. 12 Twins prospect), the No. 33 overall pick, is third in the league with 31 walks and seventh with a .413 OBP. And Khadim Diaw (No. 29 prospect), a third-rounder last year, is second in the league in on-base at .476. Single-A Fort Myers: No. 13 prospect LHP Dasan Hill, who missed some time due to upper back tightness/spasms, has returned to the active roster. He allowed two runs on two hits with five strikeouts and two walks in his most recent start on Saturday. |
|
|
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
|
|
“You’ve got to make sure you’ve got to be on your A-game, but we’ve shown we can be on our A-game for a while now. And we’re not going to stop. Our foot is on the gas pedal and we’re going to continue to push it down, with defense, offense, pitching, and letting everyone know we take it one day at a time. But that specific day, we’re willing to just leave it all out there.” -- Pablo López |
As of the start of play Saturday, only two American League players had more hits with runners in scoring position than Ty France, who entered the day 18-for-48 (.375) in those situations. He was also among the league leaders in hits with RISP and two outs (seven, tied for eighth in the AL), and hits in close-and-late situations (six, tied for 12th). Oddly, while France is only hitting .228 with the bases empty, three of his four homers are solo shots. |
AND, FINALLY, THE PLAYLIST |
Let’s go with another mystery theme, though this one may be a little easier than last week. Once again, tag me on Bluesky (@matthewhleach.bsky.social) if you think you know the mystery theme. Smashing Pumpkins, “Drown” The Cure, “Burn” Aimee Mann, “Save Me” OMD, “If You Leave” Underworld, “Born Slippy .NUXX” |
FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW |
|
|
To subscribe to Twins Beat, visit this page and mark "Twins Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Twins or that they're checked as your favorite team. |
|
|
|
