ANGRY MIKE
Yovanny Rodriguez holds the distinction of being the I.F.A. acquisition with the third highest signing bonus ($2.8 Million) ever awarded and prior to Elian Pena and soon to be signed Wandy Asigen, Rodriguez was the highest ranked I.F.A prospect (#7 MLB Pipeline) the Mets had ever signed. Rodriguez produced mixed results during his first season in the D.S.L., but he finished last summer hitting for both power and average, providing a glimpse as to why he was such a highly ranked prospect in his class. Rodriguez was sent back to the D.S.L. in 2025, and looked like a completely different player entirely on both sides of the ball.
Rodriguez improved his batting average by over 100 points, in addition to significantly improving other key statistics such OBP and OPS as well. Rodriguez was among the league leaders for all three categories in the D.S.L for all hitters, while ranking first in all 3 categories for catchers. Rodriguez showed significant improvement at the plate, in regards to his overall approach, better swing decisions, and how he managed his at-bats based when facing different counts. Rodriguez really struggled in 2024 when he fell behind in the count, failing to record a single hit in that scenario across 34 at-bats.
2025 Situational Hitting Stats:
AHEAD IN THE COUNT -> 38 AB | 46 PA
0.342 BA | 1.021 OPS | 0.600 OBP -> 1 : 1 BB : K ratio
BEHIND IN THE COUNT -> 47 AB | 47 PA -> 16 K’s
0.298 BA | 0.668 OPS | 0.306 OBP -> 2024 STATS: 0-34 with 34 strikeouts
R.I.S.P. STATS:
0.405 BA | 1.041 OPS | 0.500 OBP | 23 RBI
Rodriguez also performed equally well against both LHP & RHP, posting .300+ batting averages, significantly better than his 2024 numbers, improving his batting average by a 110 points against both. It was great to see him hit for power against right-handed pitching, recording 13 doubles, a triple, and homer against righties in 2025. Rodriguez showed a marginal improvement in strikeout rate in 2025, but he’s young enough he should be able to continue improving as he gains experience and confidence in the batter’s box.
Defensively, Rodriguez looked like a different player entirely, which was very encouraging to see considering he was identified as a plus defender when he signed as an I.F.A. Rodriguez threw out twice as many baserunners in 2025, despite 25 fewer attempts, nabbing 41% of potential base stealers for the season. He can still improve in several areas defensively, but it was great to see him flash the above average arm strength, accuracy, and pop times needed to ascertain such a marked improvement from one season to the next.
2025 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
Hit safely in 31 of 43 games -> 72%
12 Multi-hit games
Reached base in 38 of 43 games -> 88%
Reached base multiple times in 21 of 43 games
Posted 0.320+ BA | 0.429+ OBP | 0.918+ OPS or higher in every month
Showed he was a “clutch performer” -> 0.368 BA & 10 RBI with 2-outs
0.358 BA -> hitting 2nd in the order
0.313 BA -> hitting 3rd in the order
2026 OUTLOOK:
Rodriguez repeating the D.S.L. is not ideal, but nor is it the end of the world in regards to him developing into the impact prospect the #Mets thought they were getting when they signed him to then franchise record $2.85 Million signing bonus.
He is still very young and has exciting potential on both sides of the ball. Catchers historically take longer to develop, especially players who turned pro at a young age. If Rodriguez continues developing his skills as a hitter, the Mets have the potential for an exciting offense-first duo at catcher, between him and Francisco Alvarez. If Rodriguez continues to develop on the defensive side, it could potentially allow the Mets to utilize Alvarez more as a designated hitter or first baseman, which might help to reduce wear and tear and allow Alvarez to focus more on offense.
That was the type of pairing the Mets envisioned when they had Alvarez progressing through the minors quickly, and then deciding to draft Kevin Parada with a first round pick. Unfortunately, Parada has not been able to develop into the type of prospect many envisioned from watching him excel at Georgia Tech.
The Mets also have Chris Suero quickly working his way up the organizational depth chart, and although he looks like the better prospect at the moment, Rodriguez still offers a considerably higher ceiling in the long run. He may not have Suero’s athleticism or plus raw power, but he’s expected to develop into 15-20 HR power and hit for higher batting averages, as well as provide superior defense.
Rodriguez is expected to make his stateside debut this season with the Florida Complex League squad, and depending on how quickly he adapts to the higher level of competition, he has an outside chance to finish his season with Port St. Lucie. The Mets will be much more conservative with Rodriguez compared to their other young phenom Elian Pena who will also be making his stateside debut this season. Rodriguez remains an exciting young talent, who represents the next wave of impact prospects playing in the lower levels of the minor leagues.
3 comments:
Y Rod will hopefully be a dandy. This will be a very important year for him, as the actors into a longer season. Against tougher competition. Let’s see that bat crank! He plays all of 2026 as a 19 year old, so he would be entering his freshman year in a collegiate program in the states. Let’s hope he plays like the equivalent of a first rounder this year.
Oh please... let's stop this Y-Rod shite.
You know what I think about Mr. Rodriguez . I'm not going to rush him and give him four years in the system to eventually graduate to become the Mets starting catcher in 2030.
Alvarez? If he turns out to be productive, and remains that way over this period, convert him to a DH until his team eligibility runs out.
I am very pleased that there is depth in the catching ranks. Even though we have two good ones at the MLB level, catchers take a beating and wear earlier than other position players.
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