In July 2007, The Mets signed 16-year old Dominican 3B Aderlin Rodriguez, which included a bonus of $500,000+.
As most fans already know, the Mets don’t spend much time promoting their International signings, so, when you do read something about one, you tend to think of that prospect as being something special.
This one looks for real.
A-Rod finally surfaced during the season and played the remainder of the 2009 season for the GCL Mets. As a 17-year old: .290/.389/.387/776, in 62 at bats.
6-23-10: - Maybe prospect 3B Aderlin Rodriquez wanted to serve notice on opening night that it’s going to be one hell of a year. Or, maybe he just had a good game. The 18-year old belted two home runs, went 3-4, and put up “yearly” stats (I love when you can quote one game yearly stats) of: .750/.750/2.250/3.000. We can feel safe that these will come down but this is exciting news coming out of Kingsport.
6-26-10: - Rodriquez hit his third home run of the young season last night and has now raised his stats to: .353/.421/.941/1.392. He has 16 total bases in 17 at bats and has struck out only two times.
7-4-10: - A-Rod is one of a handful of young internaltional toosy prospects the Mets own. He doesn’t turn 19 until November and is already showing the kind of power the Mets had hoped for when they signed him. The good news is, he hit his fourth home run last night in only 48 at bats. The bad news… he only has six other total hits. The stats tell two stories… .208/.269/.500/.769. Hopefully, we’ll write more about him this season.
7-10-10 from: - http://www.minorleagueball.com/ - **I've received several questions this week about Mets third base prospect Aderlin Rodriguez, who has hit seven homers in his first 16 games for Kingsport in the Appy League, giving him a .292/.329/.692 line, four walks, eight strikeouts in 65 at-bats. Sample is tiny, of course, but a fast start is always better than a slow one, and I like the fact that he is combining a low strikeout rate with this much power production. Defense remains a problem: his .878 fielding percentage is awful, but is admittedly better than the horrifyingly Lovecraftian .774 fielding percentage he had last year in the Gulf Coast League. I suspect he'll end up in right field eventually, but the bat looks very promising to me. He's just 18 and hopefully the Mets won't rush him as badly as they've pushed some of their other prospects in recent years.
7-12-10 from: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100712&content_id=12218104&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp - Appalachian League - Aderlin Rodriguez, Kingsport - .429/.452/.929, 12-for-28, 5 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 9 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 SB - The second consecutive Mets prospects to take Appalachian League honors -- Javier Rodriguez was Player of the Week last week -- Aderlin Rodriguez (no relation) has busted out over his last eight games. Coming into the season, the 18-year-old Dominican had just 17 Gulf Coast League games worth of pro experience under his belt, and on Monday morning he woke up with a .208 batting average through his first 12 Appy League games. He homered for his second time in as many games that night, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. He doubled in each of his next three games, and he added two homers to Thursday's game, driving in five runs with five trips to the plate. He doubled twice more, knocking in a run and scoring, on Sunday.
7-17-10: - Rodriquez continues to shine in July and move up the prospect rankings. Last night, he went 4-5, with two doubes and four runs batted in. Yearly stats to date are quite impressive: .323/.359/.667/1.026. This is a pure third baseman and it will be interesting to see what happens in the Mets organization if Wilmer Flores is moved to third, as expected. Look for these two top Mets prospects to fight it out to become the heir apparent to David Wright some day.
8-30-10 from http://www.sandgnats.com/ : - Aderlin Rodriguez was transferred from the Kingsport roster to the Savannah roster. The 18-year old Rodriguez was recently named the Kingsport Mets Hitter of the Year. He hit .312/.352/.556 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 22 doubles, 13 home runs and 48 RBI in 61 games for Kingsport in the Appalachian League. He was fifth in the Appy League in batting, fourth in slugging, second in doubles, third in home runs, second in RBI and third in total bases (139).
8-30-10: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100830&content_id=14105872&vkey=news_t506&fext=.jsp&sid=t506 – Aderlin Rodriguez was honored as the Kingsport Mets hitter of the year before the Sunday August 29 game against the Bristol White Sox. Rodriguez has been a consistent producer in the middle of the lineup this season. The 18 year old third baseman is third in the Appy League with 13 home runs and 48 RBI's. In addition his team leading .555 slugging percentage is 4th in the league while his .312 batting is good for 6th.
9-15-10: - KINGSPORT (R) OF THE APPALACHIAN LEAGUE: ADERLIN RODRIGUEZ (INF) - Height: 6-3 Weight: 205 Bats: Right Throws: Right - Born: 11/18/91 Resides: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - Obtained: Signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2008 - Signing Scout: Ismael Cruz - Third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez was the offensive leader of the Kingsport Mets, hitting .312 (78-250), 44 runs, 22 doubles, 13 home runs and 48 RBI in 61 games with the K-Mets. The 18-year-old slugger ranked fifth in the Appalachian League in average, third in home runs, hits, and RBI, while also ranking second in doubles and fourth in runs scored.
9-30-10 from: - http://scoutingthesally.com/2010/09/stss-best-the-first-basemen-v-2011 - In terms of frame and the ability to project future size. Rodriguez could turn out to be a “monster”. Add to this an advanced eye at the plate and he becomes one of the highest ceiling prospects in a suspect system. In the South Atlantic League playoffs, I could argue he was the best hitting prospect on a field which included two, first round draft picks in Kolbrin Vitek and Reymond Fuentes. However, Rodriguez isn’t particularly athletic, has a soft body, and long swing which he will need to cut down. If I’m the Mets, a personal trainer for Rodriguez is already in the works to be sure he’s primed for a breakout 2011 campaign.
9-20 from: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/9/20/1699625/minor-league-season-in-review - After an injury-shortened pro debut in '09 that left us with more questions than answers, Aderlin burst onto the scene as one of the Mets most interesting young prospects in 2010. Aderlin was clearly the most talented player on the field in just about every game he played in with Kingsport and though he's not much of an all-around player, that's how good a power bat he featured this year. Despite being one of the youngest players in the circuit (at the age of eighteen), Rodriguez placed second in doubles, third in homers and top five in both SLG & OPS. This kid can flat out hit for power, there's no doubt about that. The natural loft in his swing as well as his incredible raw strength produces the kind of pop that you rarely see in a player his age Unfortunately, it's not all peaches and cream for Rodriguez: He doesn't possess much speed, nor does he profile as a third baseman long-term (think first base/corner OF) and his plate discipline/secondary skills left something to be desired. In short, his plus-plus power will have to carry him as a prospect as the other aspects of his game are all pretty sub-par.
10-25-10 from: - http://scoutingthesally.com/2010/10/scouting-report-aderlin-rodriguez-3b-new-york-mets - In 2011, Rodriguez will be a powerful addition to the Savannah Sand Gnats lineup and is definitely a prospect to watch within the organization. I’m curious to see where he ranks on New York Mets top-10 lists and can see him ranking in the top-6 depending on how much offensive projection is taken into consideration. When compared to other South Atlantic League prospects, his bat is less refined than the best hitters in the league, but his raw power potential may be even better than Colorado Rockies prospect Nolan Arenado and Philadelphia Phillies prospect Jonathan Singleton. However, Rodriguez has a lower floor leaving him a lesser prospect overall. With Ike Davis serving as both the Mets first baseman of the present and future, David Wright entrenched at third base, and the eventual shift of Wilmer Flores to the hot corner, Rodriguez is completely blocked at the big league level. Of course things could change in three to four years and Rodriguez’ bat projects well at either corner with continued offensive development. And while I like Wilmer Flores as a prospect who combines elite contact skills with some power projection, Rodriguez is the only prospect in the organization who has the ability to become a true impact bat in the heart of the New York lineup.
10-28-10 from: - http://scoutingthesally.com/2010/10/new-york-mets-wilmer-flores-heads-the-list-for-top-sally-third-base-prospects - - The third eighteen year old, and second Mets prospect on this list, Rodriguez is a physical presence with a better approach than the vast majority of Latin American players his age. Add to this some athleticism and impressive power, what’s left is a high ceiling bat that projects well at either corner. He’s likely to move off of the position at some point, but his floor is higher than both Marte and Salcedo leaving him entrenched in the three-hole. However, there’s admittedly a pretty steep drop off after the top two.
11-18-10 from: - http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/top-10-prospects-the-new-york-mets - Just 18, Rodriguez produced a solid triple-slash line of .312/.352/.556 in 250 at-bats in rookie ball. He even received a late-season 30-at-bat trial in low-A ball. He showed very good power potential and posted a .244 ISO rate; he shows enough raw pop to hit balls out of the park even when he doesn’t put a great swing on the pitch. Currently, he’s surviving on pure, and raw, athletic ability. There are a lot of areas of his game where he needs to make improvements – which is not surprising, given his age. Rodriguez would make even more contact if he did a better job of following the pitch into the catcher’s glove; he often pulls his head off of the pitch. He also shows a long, loopy swing at times and needs to keep the head of the bat through the strike zone for a longer period of time. Rodriguez also needs to improve against off-speed pitches as he gets out on his front foot and lunges at the ball. Defensively, a slow first step inhibits his range at the hot corner and he doesn’t show a ton of effort in this aspect of his game. There are some similarities to a young Edwin Encarnacion, although the Mets prospect has much more patience at the plate. If Rodriguez continues to develop, the organization could have something special here.
11-24-10 from: - http://www.metsgeek.com/showthread.php?658-Mets-Top-Twenty-Prospects&p=187156 - 4. Aderlin Rodriguez. The future for the Mets A-Rod is tied exclusively to his ability to mash the baseball. I saw him this summer play for Kingsport. He’s a big kid with plus power right now. It’s reasonable to believe this will become plus-plus power before he’s through. He attacks the ball well in the zone but will swing at pitches out of the zone a lot. He’s very young and has a ways to go. If he brings his strikeouts down and his walks up, this kid could become dangers once he gets into the higher levels of the minors. He lacks the ability to stay at third base long term, most likely becoming a first baseman/designated hitter. Best case scenario sees him become a 30 to 40 HR guy in the major leagues. Worst case scenario is him becoming a strikeout machine, floundering in the high minors.
12-20-10 from: - http://mets360.com/?p=5755&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mets360%2Ffeed+%28Mets360+Feed%29 - 3B, Rookie/Low-A, .312/.352/.556 in 267 PA - This is Rodriguez’ line in the Appalachian League. He got a late call-up to the SAL, where he played in eight games. While he is a year behind Puello, and with only eight games of full-season ball to his credit, Rodriguez is ranked higher due to greater power production and potential, along with his chance to stick in the infield. Rodriguez bounced back from a wrist injury in 2009 to put up 13 HR in 250 ABs in the APPY, which ranked third in the league.
12-22-20 from: - http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=12623 - Aderlin Rodriguez, 3B - Year in Review: The Dominican slugger electrified the Appy League with 22 doubles and 13 home runs in just 250 at-bats.
The Good: Rodriguez is a bull of a human being, with one scouts describing him as “thick from his hair to his ankles.” He has massive raw power, especially to his pull side, and is already capable of moonshots when he crushes a mistake. Beyond the power, he's also a sound hitter who makes more contact than most young sluggers. His arm is a true plus tool in terms of both strength and accuracy.
The Bad: Rodriguez has little chance to stay at third base. He's big, slow, and still a teenager, and will likely need to slide over to first base well before he's big league-ready. He's a very aggressive hitter who sits dead red early in the count, and will need to become more patient as he moves up. He wears his emotions on his sleeve, and often seems to take bad at-bats into the field and vice versa.
Ephemera: When batting in the fourth inning of games in 2010, Rodriguez went 16-for-38 (.421) with four doubles and six home runs, good for a slugging percentage of 1.000.
Perfect World Projection: He could be a middle-of-the-order slugger, but one of far less value if forced to move across the diamond.
Fantasy Impact: He could be a big-time run producer.
Path to the Big Leagues: Rodriguez will begin his first full season back at Low-A Savannah, where he struggled in a limited look at the end of the year. He's still 1,500 at-bats away from the big leagues.
4-1-11: - 3B Aderlin Rodriguez moves up to clean-up spot. He entered this game hitting .302 in his past ten games, including 5-HR, and 15-RBIs in 43-Abs. He also entered this game with an incredible stat I don’t remember seeing for many years. He entered this game with 342 professional at bats, which has produced 26 doubles, 15 home runs, and 69 runs batted in. Project this over a 550 at bat season, and you end up with something like 36 doubles, 21 homers, and 80 ribbys. Now, here’s the incredible part… all of this has been accomplished before turning 20 years of age.
5-28-11: - Yeah, I know. Aderlin Rodriguez has the best bat in the system. Aderlin Rodriguez is leading the organization in home runs. Aderlin Rodriguez is only 11-years old. Well, in my book right now, Aderlin Rodriguez has 17-errors, is playing the wrong position, and barely hitting over .200. If this is the best the Mets have, they better ignore the pitchers come June 6th and draft themselves some bats.
6-15-11: - It looks like 3B Aderlin Rodriguez is finally getting out of his hitting funk. A-Rod went 1-3 last night, raising his batting average to a season high .223. More importantly, he’s hitting .342 for the past ten games. He also has nine home runs through a miserable first half of the season. We have to remember he’s still only 19 years old, so expect the new Mets regime to let him play the entire year, and maybe next year, in Savannah.
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