Cardinals breakout prospect takes home multiple Player of the Week awards

It might be harder to find a prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals organization with a hotter stock right now than Rainiel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, an international free agent signee in the Cardinals' 2024 class, made his stateside debut this month in the FCL where he has been putting on a show in the batter's box. In the 10 games the 18-year-old has appeared in, he is slashing .387/512/1.000 with 6 home runs and 11 RBIs. In this past week alone, he led the Florida Complex League in almost every offensive category and won the Player of the Week Award.

The Player of the Week honors didn't stop there, as Rodriguez was also named to MLB Pipeline's Team of the Week for his performance last week. The young backstop beat out every single catcher in Minor League baseball for this honor.

The Dominican native also topped Baseball America's weekly "Hot Sheet," which is a weekly write-up of the 20 hottest prospects in the game.

While Rodriguez is one of four catchers ranked inside the team's top 30 prospects, the Dominican native might just have the most upside among the group long term in the batter's box. He just turned 18 this year, so his defense behind the plate is a work in progress. If he can fill out his frame and start seeing improvements defensively, we might be looking at a top-5 prospect in the Cardinals system by end of season.

Rodriguez will most likely finish the FCL season at the complex which ends on July 25th. The time at the complex is crucial for guys who just came stateside, as it is a huge adjustment period being in the US for the first time for these players. They take English classes and have time to be prepped for a new lifestyle here compared to their native countries. A call-up to Low-A will be in the cards once the season concludes in the FCL.