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Cleveland Guardians 2023 Top 50 Prospects, No. 35 OF Johnathan Rodriguez
As the future of the organization prepares for a new year and spring there’s no better time to bring you the Cleveland Baseball Insiders top 50 prospects for the upcoming 2023 season.
The Guardians are widely regarded as having one of the deepest and top farm systems in all of baseball. So deep, in fact, that it was very difficult to trim the list down to just 50 players I think could have an impact at the MLB level. I probably could easily have ended up listing 75 or more players.
I am implementing the Fangraphs future value grading scale which you will be able to locate under each player video. Future Value is a grade on the 20-80 scale that maps to anticipated annual WAR production during the player’s first six years of service.
My rankings are based off seeing the players live, watching video and having conversations with other evaluators and writers. While prospect lists are fun and entertaining for fans, they are not an end-all-be-all in terms of who make it eventually to the major leagues. Remember, Jose Ramirez was never a top 100 prospect nationally and Oscar Gonzalez wasn't even a top 20 prospect in the Guardians organization.
The ultimate goal here is to inform our readers and give you information on some of the young talent in the organization that they can follow and look forward to seeing in the future at the MLB level.
No. 35 Johnathan Rodriguez - OF
2022 Stats
Bio
Rodriguez was drafted in the third round of the 2017 MLB draft by Cleveland out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. He was the second-youngest player in the class not turning 18 until November 4th, 2017. He made his professional debut playing in 31 games in the Arizona Complex League in the same year.
In 2018 the 18-year-old Rodriguez returned to the Arizona Complex League where he hit .294 over 47 games with a .370 on base percentage. Rodriguez spent 2019 with the short-season Mahoning Valley Scrappers where he finally showed some of his pop with 25 extra base hits over 66 games including six home runs while posting a .247 average.
Rodriguez made his full-season debut in 2021 for the Low-A Lynchburg Hillcats after the cancelation of the 2020 minor league season due to the pandemic. He hit .314 with five home runs and 33 RBI's over 59 games with the Hillcats before earning a promotion to High-A Lake County. He finished the season with the Captains hitting just .214 with two home runs in 24 games played.
2022 Season
Rodriguez opened the 2022 season back with the High-A Lake County Captains where he finished his 2021 campaign. Something clicked for him in his second stint with the Captains as Rodriguez finally displayed the power potential that was always predicted for him since he was drafted.
He dominated Midwest League pitchers putting up 39 extra base hits including 21 home runs in just 79 games. Rodriguez hit .292 with a .573 slugging percentage and a .919 OPS in those 79 contests.
He was promoted to Double-A Akron on August 15th where he finished the season with 14 extra base hits including five home runs but only a .206 average over 28 games.
His numbers overall during his breakout season were quite impressive posting career highs in home runs with 26 demolishing his previous career high of seven during the 2021 season. Rodriguez also posted a career high in RBI's with 74 and extra base hits 53 all done in just 107 games. He finished with a .269 batting average, a .858 OPS and 130 wRC+ on the year.
Scouting Report
Rodriguez offers plus raw power and displayed it in his breakout 2022 season. His power is only second in the organization to Guardians 21-year-old outfield prospect Jhonkensy Noel but it's not a big difference. Since being drafted he has shortened the length of his swing to help refine his overall hitting mechanics. There is some swing and miss to his game and he does not draw many walks. But again, the power in undeniable when he makes contact, and he does try use the whole field in his approach.
He has a very similar profile at the plate to Oscar Gonzalez but does not possess the same speed as Oscar in the outfield or on the base paths. He does have a very strong arm similar again to Gonzalez, but his outfield defense is considered average at best.
2023 and Future Outlook
Rodriguez was assigned to Double-A Akron to start his 2023 season. So far, he is off to a slow start with the Ducks hitting just .211 over his first 15 games but is currently riding a four-game hitting streak as of April 25th.
There is no doubting Rodriguez raw power, but the question is can he repeat the breakout season he produced in 2022 at the Double-A level in 2023. If he can and he shows less swing and miss and better plate discipline, he has a shot of potentially being a MLB regular at the corner outfield positions or a designated hitter or a nice power platoon bat against left-handed pitching. He will have to show he can handle the more advanced league pitching at the Double-A and Triple-A levels first.
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