RADIO
PROSPECT: Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Minnesota Twins
ANALYSIS: The Twins signed Rodriguez out of the Dominican Republic for $2.5 million as one of the top international free agents in the 2019-2020 class. Because of the pandemic, his pro debut wasn't made until 2021 when he showed off impressive raw power and speed but had contact concerns.
Last year, Rodriguez was among the most impressive hitters in the minor leagues when a knee injury ended his season. At the time of the injury, he was the minor league leader in wRC+, slashing .272/.493/.552 with more walks than strikeouts. This season he's fully healthy, and he's shown his home run power and speed are both still there, with 10 homers and nine steals in 47 games.
The contact issues of his first season have returned though, as Rodriguez is slashing .228/.377/.456, and while his walk rate is still high (19%), he's striking out at a clip over 30%. He's seemingly leaned hard into his power, with an all-or-nothing approach, generating 56% of his hits to pull side and seeing his highest groundball rate of his career (41%).
VERDICT: Rodriguez has the most raw talent of any player in a strong Twins farm system. He will need to work through his raw tools to polish them for gameplay, but Emmanuel is a legit 5-tool talent that should get a look by the end of 2024 for the Twins outfield. He's a definite must-own.
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