Former Cardinals All-Star has some of the highest praise for top prospect Rainiel Rodriguez

If you don't know the name Rainiel Rodriguez yet, you should. The St. Louis Cardinals have a potential superstar on their hands, and one former Cardinals All-Star Ryan Ludwick just gave some incredible praise on 101 ESPN.

Appearing on BK & Ferrario, Ludwick said Rodriguez could be the best young hitter he's ever seen in the Cardinals organization. Yup, you read that right! Ludwick played with the Cardinals organization from 2007-2010 and has been an instructor with them since 2022, so he's seen his fair share of great young hitters during his time with the organization.

Rodriguez, 19, has done nothing but mash since the Cardinals signed him as an international amateur back in 2024. So far this season, between both High-A and Double-A, Rodriguez has posted a .310/.400/.534 slash line with 19 home runs and 68 RBI in just 98 games. Remember, he's just 19 years old!

If you want an idea of just how special that production is, let's compare him to his peers and some historical context.

Rainiel Rodriguez looks like a truly special bat for the Cardinals long term

First, comparing Rodriguez to other 19-year-olds at the Double-A level, here is how he stacks up against MLB Pipeline's number one and number two prospects in all of baseball, Brewers' Jesus Made and Athletics' Leo De Vries.

Rainiel Rodriguez - .309/.388/.540 (.927 OPS), 135 wRC+, 15 HR, 47 RBI, 9.4 BB%, 20.3 K% (320 PA)

Jesus Made - .273./.350/.437 (.787 OPS), 107 wRC+, 13 HR, 79 RBI, 10.5 BB%, 14.6 K% (486 PA)

Leo De Vries - .290/.378/.458 (.836 OPS), 117 wRC+, 13 HR, 74 RBI, 11.4 BB%, 21.3 K% (428 PA)

Made and De Vries are both exceptional prospects who play great shortstop defense, so it makes sense that they are so highly ranked, but it truly is a shocking omission at this point to have Rodriguez all the way down at 18th.

Rodriguez just became the sixth prospect since 2006 to hit 15 homers at Double-A before turning 20, joining De Vries, Giancarlo Stanton, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Chourio, and Samuel Basallo as the only other players to do it. Oh, and did I mention he's played just 70 games there? (Note: De Vries has just 13 home runs at the level this year but hit five at Double-A last year, which is why he makes this list.)

The teenage catcher has been a star in the making for a while now, and the damage he's been doing at the plate is backed by very encouraging underlying metrics. He has an incredible feel for barreling baseballs, lifts the ball at a high rate, and is already very mature at the plate and knows his strike zone.

Rodriguez is currently in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak and just had 41 consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout. During this hitting streak, Rodriguez is slashing .429/.473/.755 (1.228 OPS) with three home runs, 10 extra-base hits, and 11 RBI. Again, he's just 19 years old!

Rodriguez, or Hulk, as many in the organization like to call him, could very well make a Triple-A debut before the season is over, but if he doesn't, he'll for sure be there to start the 2027 campaign and, at this rate, will be making his Major League debut then, too. He has a promising outlook behind the plate right now, but the Cardinals are looking into helping him have more positional versatility so they can get his bat into the Major League lineup when they deem it ready.

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