Dereck Rodriguez

[StormJH1]

 

 

(Ivan) Dereck Rodriguez - Outfielder

 

DOB: 06/05/1992 (19 years old)

 

6'1" 175lb

 

Drafted: 6th Round of 2011 Amateur Draft by Minnesota Twins

 

Yes, Ivan Rodriguez has a son playing professional baseball, and he was drafted by the Twins last year. Aaron Gleeman ranked him as the 38th best Twins prospect. However, it is far too early to know if he will be a legitimate big leaguer or not. Unlike his father, Dereck is a tall, speedy outfielder. He apparently has a terrific arm in the outfield, so much so that there was some talk of trying him out as a pitcher. (His arm velocity from OF throws has been clocked a 95 mph). He hit only .156 in rookie ball, but that was after just 98 plate appearances.

 

Here is an article from Bleacher Report discussing his rise as a prospect and his efforts to keep his relationship to his dad on the down-low as a prospect:

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1099203-dereck-rodriguez-forges-his-own-path-to-the-big-leagues

 

Here is a YouTube clip with a 2-minute interview of Dereck talking about his high school career, and showing him working in the cages, ala Joe Mauer practicing with the Quick Pitch

 

[video=youtube;-bCx3pXvZOQ]http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bCx3pXvZOQ

 

No 2012 statistics yet for Dereck Rodriguez, but my assumption is that he'll be in rookie ball or Low A again. I will update later if I see that he has gotten some games in.

[StormJH1]

So, I haven't updated since the first post because Dereck hasn't played any game action in 2012 that I can find. I don't know much about the schedule for rookie ball, but my assumption is that it's a short season. Meanwhile, this 04/23/2012 article references that Dereck has been involved with extended Spring Training in Ft Myers:

 

http://www.news-press.com/article/20120423/SPORTS/120423005/1003/NEWS0101/All-Star-Twins-catcher-Dereck-Rodriguez-set-retire?odyssey=nav%7Chead

[greengoblinrulz]

Hope that Derek hasnt dipped into Daddy's 'special baseball sauce'.....but after 8gms, he looks like a different player.

.458/.594/.708 in 24ABs 3 doubles HR 4RBI 6BB 3K 3/5 SBs

Be nice to see the 20 year old (too old for GCL IMO) moved up this year ASAP

[righty8383]

Anybody know why Rodriguez hasn't played in a week?

[greengoblinrulz]

saw Seth tweet it was a hamstring......any timetable Seth?

[Seth Stohs]

I don't have a timetable... just know it's the hamstring.

[StormJH1]

Checked the box scores and he's apparently still out. Too bad because he was off to a terrific start through 13 games, hitting .390 with 2 HR's and 4 stolen bases.

[greengoblinrulz]

Back today for GCL.... was DHing

[greengoblinrulz]

Now back for a wk (6/23 hitting) ....hope he's not goin to ELIZ next yr due to Buxton/Keplar/Walker/Jimmenez/Pineda bein in BEL.

Seems like he may be an OF afterthought, was a 6th round pick & will only be 20 next yr, but seems like he's on outside looking in.

Was pretty solid up to the hamstring injury after a poor GCL debut last yr.

[jokin]

Now back for a wk (6/23 hitting) ....hope he's not goin to ELIZ next yr due to Buxton/Keplar/Walker/Jimmenez/Pineda bein in BEL.

Seems like he may be an OF afterthought, was a 6th round pick & will only be 20 next yr, but seems like he's on outside looking in.

Was pretty solid up to the hamstring injury after a poor GCL debut last yr.

It seems like he might have a little something in his background about playing catcher?

[greengoblinrulz]

Now back for a wk (6/23 hitting) ....hope he's not goin to ELIZ next yr due to Buxton/Keplar/Walker/Jimmenez/Pineda bein in BEL.

Seems like he may be an OF afterthought, was a 6th round pick & will only be 20 next yr, but seems like he's on outside looking in.

Was pretty solid up to the hamstring injury after a poor GCL debut last yr.

 

It seems like he might have a little something in his background about playing catcher?

Did he play C in high school??? Old man really should have him learn....if not just to be an emergency type guy. Amazed more young players dont learn it to give em more versatility.

[Seth Stohs]

He hasn't caught... the backup plan for Dereck Rodriguez would likely be on the mound. However, he's a potential 5-tool OF, so they'll stick with that for awhile.

[jokin]

He hasn't caught... the backup plan for Dereck Rodriguez would likely be on the mound. However, he's a potential 5-tool OF, so they'll stick with that for awhile.

Yes, but given the logjam, where?

[greengoblinrulz]

been solid this yr....hope they dont hold him down next yr to ELIZ just cause they dont have a spot for him in BEL (or Cedar Rapids).

[greengoblinrulz]

disappointing finish for Derek after hamstring injury

Upon return

17gm 10/58 .172/.238/.293 4runs 4doubles HR 6rbi 25k 5bb 2/2sb's

 

Really not sure if you buy the first 13gms as his true shot or the last 17gms after a bad 2011 debut

[Seth Stohs]

Big picture, none of the stats mean anything regarding his future, but you can't help but wonder what those numbers could have been if he would have stayed healthy. He'll go to Instructional League, then most likely go to E-Town next year.

[greengoblinrulz]

Big picture, none of the stats mean anything regarding his future, but you can't help but wonder what those numbers could have been if he would have stayed healthy. He'll go to Instructional League, then most likely go to E-Town next year.

He'll only be 20 when ELIZ starts next yr so its not like he's old (be like a JC college drafted player) but unfortunately you dont really know what you got yet....too bad

[StormJH1]

Big picture, none of the stats mean anything regarding his future, but you can't help but wonder what those numbers could have been if he would have stayed healthy. He'll go to Instructional League, then most likely go to E-Town next year.

He'll only be 20 when ELIZ starts next yr so its not like he's old (be like a JC college drafted player) but unfortunately you dont really know what you got yet....too bad

Agreed. Yes, he's still young, and we don't really know what we have yet, but the strikeouts do seem pretty high, and there hasn't been much displayed of what he'll do well as a hitter.

 

Aaron Hicks was a more coveted prospect, but he spent one year in the rookie league as an 18-year old and then was on to Beloit for two years. Denard Span started later, but got moved up to A-ball when he was 20. I think he is a bit behind in his development, but this is slowly becoming an organization with a lot of OF depth around his age, so it's more about the destination than the journey.

 

Also, don't forget about the pedigree and what that might do for his reputation down the line. Players like Tony Gwynn Jr. and Eric Young Jr. are fringe MLB'ers, but they've gotten several looks in the bigs, and name recognition certainly doesn't hurt that cause. If Dereck can at least develop into a rangey OF with good defense, he'll have an easier path to the majors than, say, Darin Mastroianni.