David Rodriguez (minors05)

David Alexander Rodríguez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 215 lb.

• Born February 25, 1996 in Barcelona, Anzoátegui Venezuela

BR register page

Biographical Information

David Rodríguez has played in the minors, peaking at AAA, and for the Venezuelan national team.

Rodríguez was signed in August 2012 by Tampa Bay Rays scouts Marlon Roche and Ronnie Blanco , and he hit .329/.409/.540 with 12 homers in 64 games for the VSL Rays in 2013. He won the Venezuelan Summer League home run crown by one ahead of Yordyn Calderon. He was 7th in runs (44), 4th in hits (78, between Gianfranco Wawoe and Delbis Arcila), 4th in average (between Victor Padron and Wawoe), 3rd in OBP (after Calderon and Wawoe), 4th in slugging (between Roney Alcala and Arcila) and 2nd in OPS (81 behind Calderon). He collected 2 triples with a .273/.343/.383 batting line for the GCL Rays in 2014, and he blasted 4 homers with a .258/.327/.376 batting line in 2015 for the Princeton Rays. Rodríguez got 16 doubles and 9 homers for the Bowling Green Hot Rods in 2016, and he hit .240/.321/.349 in 116 games. He played 19 games for the Brisbane Bandits in the 2016-2017 ABL, and he had a superb .442/.494/.753 batting line. Had he qualified, he would've easily won the batting title (Mitch Dening won at .340) and led in OBP (Trent D'Antonio led at .438) and slugging (Tim Kennelly led at .573). Rodríguez struggled in 2017 as his batting line fell to .201/.270/.248 for the Charlotte Stone Crabs, and he hit .290/.353/.339 with the Bravos de Margarita in the winter.

The Barcelona native improved to .317/.385/.471 in 28 contests for the Stone Crabs in 2018, and he also batted .230/.286/.337 in 69 games for the AA Montgomery Biscuits and .336/.366/.496 with 3 homers in the winter. Rodriguez stayed with the Biscuits for the entire 2019 season, and he hit .225/.303/.366 with 7 homers. After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the minor leagues, he played well in the winter and hit .384/.481/.579 for the Bravos. He was 4th in the Venezuelan League in average (between Hernán Pérez and Willians Astudillo), third in hits (51, behind Ali Castillo and Astudillo), tied for 6th in doubles (9), tied for 7th in HR (5), 3rd in OBP (after Danry Vasquez and Pérez), 5th in slugging (between Angel Reyes and Astudillo) and 3rd in OBP (trailing Vasquez and Pérez). He also appeared for the Federales de Chiriquí in the 2021 Caribbean Series. He was 8 for 24 with four doubles, five runs and five RBI in six games. He tied Juan Lagares and Melky Cabrera for second in the Series in runs, trailed only Jarren Duran in hits, was second in doubles (one shy of Joey Meneses), was behind only Lagares in RBI and tied for 4th in walks (4). Jesse Castillo was named the All-Star DH instead. He hit .232/.348/.411 for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in 2021, and he played 32 games with the AAA Syracuse Mets and his batting line was .261/.320/.377. He also collected 5 homers and 3 triples with a .282/.387/.442 batting line in the winter. He was 4th in runs (38) and tied for second with three triples, trailing Osleivis Basabe.

Rodríguez signed with the Tampa Bay Rays again in 2022, and he hit .250/.315/.440 in 37 games for the for the AAA Durham Bulls. He had a .333/.424/.547 batting line for the Bravos in the winter, again finishing among numerous LVBP leaderboards - average (tied Tomo Otosaka and Rainel Rosario for 4th), doubles (12, tied for 9th), homers (9, tied for 5th), RBI (36, 7th), total bases (105, 3rd, behind José Rondón and Alberth Martinez), walks (33, tied Isaias Tejeda for 6th), OBP (10th, between Ildemaro Vargas and Rondón), slugging (6th, between José Martínez and Carlos Rivero) and OPS (5th, between Rondón and Rosario). He batted .338/.449/.458 for them in the next winter season. He was 8th in runs (35, between Wilson Garcia and Otosaka), 6th with 68 hits (between Martínez and Garcia), 7th in total bases (92), 6th in walks (37, between Niuman Romero and Vasquez), 9th in average (between Rondón and Yorman Rodriguez), second in OBP (.010 behind Aldrem Corredor) and 7th in OPS (between Luis Sardiñas and Gabriel Noriega).

Rodriguez went to the Mexican League in 2024, and he crushed 9 homers with a .303/.383/.513 batting line for the Tigres de Quintana Roo. He also went 14-for-52 with the Rieleros de Aguascalientes, and he hit .211/.294/.303 in 19 games for the Bravos and .375/.474/.625 in 23 games for the Tigres de Aragua the next winter. He represented Venezuela in the 2024 Premier 12. Rodriguez was their starting DH against Mexico, and he went 2-for-4 with a run. However, he was 0-for-7 combined in his next three games.