Apr 21, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Cardinals Catching Prospect Named Team's Most Impressive Prospect

Originally posted on Minor League Baseball on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 2:29 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals are falling out of postseason contention, and the focus will soon be on the future rather than contending in the present. Chaim Bloom will take over for John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations and finally begin a much needed rebuild for the Cardinals. While the Major League club is struggling badly, they have plenty of intriguing prospects in their farm system that took a step forward this year.

A lot of their top prospects are catchers, and they'll be set at that position as far as depth is concerned for quite some time. Rainel Rodriguez, the team's No. 4 prospect had a year to remember in 2025.

Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Sam Dykstra of MLB.com listed Rodriguez as the Cardinals' breakout prospect from this season.

Cardinals Catcher Enjoyed Breakout 2025 Season

"Rodriguez was certainly great in 2024 with a .683 slugging percentage and a 1.145 OPS, but in proving he could carry his trademark power to not only stateside ball but also Single-A, he jumped into the Top 100 and set himself up for further leaps in future rankings. Dating back to 2006, Rodriguez (145) is one of only three age-18 catchers with a wRC+ above 140 over 250 plate appearances or more -- Samuel Basallo (151) and Jesus Montero (147) are the others. His 20 homers on the season were tied for seventh-most among all Minor League backstops this season."

Rodriguez was signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2024. He began his professional career last year and put up some very impressive numbers. But he really improved in 2025. Between the Florida Complex League, High-A Palm Beach, and Class-A Peoria, he hit .276/.399/.555 with 63 RBI and a .954 OPS in 84 games in addition to his 20 homers.

The 18-year-old also had a 167 total bases and picked up 83 hits in his 301 at-bats and 368 plate appearances. The Cardinals are loaded with catching prospects. This includes Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal as well, but Rodriguez might just be the best of the bunch.

His power is certainly impressive, and he is a right-handed hitter. St. Louis has lacked an extra power-hitting right-handed bat since Albert Pujols retired and Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado began to decline.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the young catcher.

More MiLB: Guardians Pitching Prospect Takes Home Impressive Honor For 2025 Dominance

This article first appeared on Minor League Baseball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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