The Mets drafted Rodriguez in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft. In June 2008, BA did a post-draft adjustment of their top 10 Mets prospects and Rodriquez was ranked #9, with the comments: “9. Javier Rodriguez, of - 2008 second-rounder is a lean athlete with speed and projectable power.”
In 2008, Rodriguez batted .193 for the GCL Mets.
In February 2009, Toby Hyde said: #15 - CF Javier Rodriguez - Why Ranked Here: Athleticism, athleticism and athleticism. The lanky Rodriguez lopes across centerfield with plus range already. It’s like he’s built with springs in his cleats. As Mets fans who watch and appreciate Carlos Beltran’s play should know, playing center is not just about being a burner and Rodriguez already gets good reads of the bat. Rodriguez’s long swing prevented him from making good consistent contact, although once underway, he showed fine batspeed. He has room to fill out on his wiry frame, which will bring more power into his game. 2008: Hitting .193/.258/.237 is fine in a 38 game professional debut in the GCL, but would be acceptable for a prospect in almost no other league. Projected 2009 Start: Savannah with a good Spring Training. XST is a possibility as well.
In February 2009, World of Baseball ranked J-Rod the 7th top prospect out of Puerto Rico: 7. Javier Rodriguez OF (Mets) - He’s still a teenager, drafted in the second round in 2008. His first exposure to rookie ball he only hit .193, but he shows all five tools. Whether he can put them together will decide how far he advances. Despite his poor average he only had 27 K’s in 38 games so he was making contact. A good spring will give the Mets confidence to start him in low A, otherwise he will have to play in extended spring training until the Rookie leagues begin, or Javier shows the readiness to handle low A.
In March 2009, Joe DeMayo wrote: Mets Prospect #14: OF Javier Rodriguez - Rodriguez, a Mets 2nd round draft pick in 2008 out of Puerto Rico is the one of, if not the most athletic prospect in the Mets system. At the young age of 18 he is already playing center field like a pro. Unfortunately hitting wasn’t a strength for “J-Rod” in his pro debut. He hit a mere .193 in the Gulf Coast League, but he still has immense potential. He is very rail thin at this point(163 pounds), but at his young age, he is still very likely to build up some. A major issue with Rodriguez’s offensive game is the length of his swing, which is what led to 27 strikeouts in 38 games in his professional debut. He needs to either work on shortening his stroke, or develop more bat speed or he’s going to get a real lot of strikeouts throughout his minor league career. There is no doubt though about Rodriguez’s defense and speed. I don’t like to compare anyone to Beltran, but scouts say Rodriguez has the graceful range similar to that of Beltran. He was a very high pick by the team, and they see a lot of potential in him.
http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?m=200910 - Javier Rodriguez OF (Mets) - Javier was a second round selection of the Mets in 2008. He attended the Puerto Rican Baseball Academy that was created to renew the baseball talent in Puerto Rico. His best tool should be his speed, though his stolen base totals his last two years have been just two. He only hit .230 in the Rookie Gulf Coast League this year and he struck out 39 times in 36 games. If Javier wants to take advantage of his speed he needs to improve that OBA (.285). He won’t be hitting out of the leadoff spot if he doesn’t get on base.
1-1-10: - Forecast: Many Mets sources say that J-Rod is real prospect material, though he has gotten off to a slow start. My guess would be that he is showcased in Brooklyn come next spring.
5-17-10: - Stock Up: Looks like the mets might have found another 19-year old Latin shortstop to brag about. Wilfredo Tovar comes out of the DSL system and really didn’t do anything that special last season for the GCL Mets (.243/.294/.318/.611). For some reason, he was called upon this month to go to St. Luic and start in place of Reese Havens (moved to 2B) and Luis Nieve (DL). So far, this sure is working: .400/.419/.500/.919. Yes, it’s only 30-Abs but it’s worth noting at this point in the season.
7-6-10 from: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100705&content_id=11953216&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp - Appalachian League Offensive Player of the Week - Javier Rodriguez, Kingsport - .517/.517/.862, 15-for-29, 4 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 SB - Mets '08 second-rounder Javier Rodriguez went 3-for-6 with a double and a run scored over a week-opening doubleheader, and he banged out three more singles and a homer over the next two games as well. His Friday and Saturday performances, though, really stand out. He hit his second homer in as many games and also doubled Friday, driving in five runs and scoring twice. On Saturday, he was 4-for-5 with two doubles, three RBIs and another run scored
7-27-10: - J-Rod continues to impress this season. Last night, he went 3-5 and raised his seasonal stats to: 132-AB, .318/.345/.500/.845, .371-BABIP, .182-ISOP. I like the slow speed the mets are using here. Rodriquez was a very quiet second rounder who didn’t play the year he was signed. He’s only 20-years old, but he’s obviously way ahead of the rest of the players at his level. I expect him to play Lucy next season and possibly get a reward bump to Savannah before the end of this season.
8-30-10: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100830&content_id=14105872&vkey=news_t506&fext=.jsp&sid=t506 - Javier Rodriguez was recognized for his being selected to the All Appalachian League team on last Thursday. The 20 year old outfielder who was the Mets 2nd round draft pick in 2008 leads the team and is 4th in the league with a batting average of .319. Javier is also 2nd on the team with 15 doubles and 2 triples while hitting 4 home runs and driving in 24 runs.
Rodriguez played the entire 2010 season for Kingsport and hit .319/.353/.513/.865 in 160-AB.He led his team in hitting and needed less than five more official at-bats to qualify for the 5th best BA and 9th best slugging percentage in the league.
2011 Forecast: - J-Rod was a very quiet second round pick. He played very little after being signed, yet the international pundits raved about the pick. Well, it's turned out they were right. Rodriquez looks like the real deal and is starting to show some pop. There really is no reason to play him in Brooklyn next spring, so I have him going straight to Savannah. This is a top ten prospect and you need to keep your eyes on this one.
9-20 from: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/9/20/1699625/minor-league-season-in-review - The big righty from Venezuela made some waves as the team's pitcher of the year with a very strong mix of power stuff and strong command in 2010. Though he's not going to light up the radar guns beyond the lower 90's and his secondary stuff is expectedly raw, the eighteen year old showed a very good ability to hit his spots and despite getting lit up in his one start with St. Lucie, he's at least raised some eyebrows going into 2011.
10-18-10 from: - http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/2010/10/18/q-a-with-espns-jason-churchill - The Mets believe they are starting to see results of the tools they drafted. They love his loose, quick swing and power potential and trust that he’s starting to put things together. He’s a player I have not seen myself, but the Mets tell me he has above average tools across the board but that the power potential is what will carry him. One team official said he feels Rodriguez just needed time to get comfortable and that the kid reached that point in ’10. The club may get aggressive with him if he starts off quick in 2011, too, to keep up the momentum.
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