Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Goals For Catchers This Season

Goal #3 – The Development of Endy Rodriguez

It was a busy offseason for the Pittsburgh Pirates on the trade market. One of the trades they swung was a three-team deal with the San Diego Padres and New York Mets. In this trade the Pirates sent starting pitcher Joe Musgrove to the Padres and received five prospects in return, four from the Padres and one from the Mets.

The one prospect the Pirates received from the Mets in the trade was catcher Endy Rodrigeuz. Adding Rodriguez filled the team’s organizational need for a young catcher and made Rodriguez the catcher of the future for the Pirates. In 2021, the Pirates are going to want to see Rodriguez continueing to progress and develop in the minor leagues.

During the 2019 season Rodriguez played for both the Gulf Coast League Mets and the Dominican Summer League Mets. In 102 plate appearances between the two levels Rodriguez hit for a .294/.411/.510 slash line. He walked at a strong 12.0% rate, struck out in just 14.4% of his trips to the plate and posted a terrific 159 wRC+.

Look for the 20-year-old Rodriguez to start the season with Low-A Bradenton. While it will be just the Low-A level, it will be Rodriguez’s first taste of full-season baseball. Although, with the minor league season not starting until early May it will not be true full-season baseball.

The 2021 season will be a big season for Rodriguez with his development and progress as a prospect. While Rodriguez will not impact the catching situation at the Major Leauge level for the Pirates, the season he has will still be worth monitoring for fans.