Prospects On Deck: Julio Rodriguez, C – Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals signed catcher Julio Rodriguez in 2016 to a free agent contract and sent him to their Dominican Summer league where he batted .322, with 10 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 37 RBI’s in 40 games. In his rookie year behind the plate, Rodriguez caught 289 innings, and threw out 18 of 42 base runners attempting to steal.

In 2017, the Dominican Native was sent to start the season with the Johnson City Cardinals (Rookie) of the Appalachian League and in 47 games, he batted .280, with 14 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 36 RBI’s. As a catcher in 36 games, spanning 308 innings for Johnson City, he threw out 16 of 33 runners attempting to steal.

At the end of the season, the Cardinals rewarded Rodriguez by sending him to their Class-A Advanced affiliate the Palm Beach Cardinals for one game. He didn’t record a hit, but it gave him the experience of playing at a higher level.

Last season, the 6’0″ catcher played in 76 games with the Peoria Chiefs (Class-A Full) of the Midwest League and spanning 291 at bats, he batted .258, with 15 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 47 RBI’s. In 2018, he upped his presence behind the plate by throwing out 36 of 77 runners attempting to steal a base, in 617 innings.

So far in 2019, with the Palm Beach Cardinals, Rodriguez is batting .331, with seven doubles, five home runs and 22 RBI’s in 130 at bats, which has earned him a spot on the League’s Mid-Season Classic’s South Roster. In 36 games behind the plate and 315 innings so far this season, the All Star catcher has thrown out 15 of 38 runners attempting to steal a base.

In the month of April, Rodriguez batted .344 (20 for 58), with two doubles, two home runs and eight RBI’s. In May, he batted .315 (23 for 73), with five doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI’s. He also enjoyed an 11 game hitting streak from April 28th thru May 16th, has hit safely in 26 of the 36 games so far this season, and has 12 multi-hit games, five of which were 3-hit games.

Even though Rodriguez was signed as a catcher, he has seen some limited action at first base in his brief pro career, which shows his versatility and also will allow his career to last longer, then just the grind behind the plate.

You can catch Rodriguez and his teammates,  Justin Toerner OF,  Bryan Dobzanski P, Angel Rondon P, as they join the other Florida State League All Stars in the 58th annual Mid-Season Classic on June 15, in Jupiter, Florida.

David Conde

David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.