Dereck Rodriguez

Ivan Dereck Rodriguez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 215 lb.
• High School Monsignor Pace High School
• Debut May 29, 2018

• Born June 5, 1992 in Arlington, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Dereck Rodriguez is the son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez. He was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 6th round of the 2011 amateur draft. He was originally an outfielder and spent his first three seasons at the position, his best season coming in 2012 when he hit .263 with 3 homers and 12 RBIs in 30 games for the GCL Twins. He began his conversion to the mound in the 2013-14 Puerto Rican League, with the Indios de Mayagüez, where he made three appearances as a reliever. He was then a reliever for the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League in 2014, going 2-2, 1.05 in 17 games.

He became a starting pitcher in 2015 and stayed in the role for the following seasons, even though he was still used as a reliever whenever he pitched in Puerto Rico. He was 6-3, 2.85 in 12 starts for Elizabethton in 2015 but had a rough season in 2016, finishing at 5-13, 4.48 in 23 starts between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Fort Myers Miracle. He bounced back in 2016, in a season split between Fort Myers and the Chattanooga Lookouts, going 10-6, 3.27 in 26 games. Following the season, he became a free agent and signed with the San Francisco Giants, at the urging of Pablo Sandoval, with whom he was working out in Miami, FL.

He started off well with the AAA Sacramento RiverCats in 2018, going 4-1, 3.40 with 53 strikeouts over his first 9 starts. On May 28th, he was called up to San Francisco. The plan was to have him pitch out of the bullpen at first. He made his debut on May 29th against the Colorado Rockies, replacing starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija who had to leave after one inning due to shoulder tightness. He pitched two scoreless innings and retired the first two batters he faced in the 4th before an error led to three unearned runs. He then left in the 5th after being hit in the leg by a comebacker off the bat of Ian Desmond. He also hit an RBI double. He recorded his first win in his first start, against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 3rd. Matched up against former Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta, he held the Phillies to 1 run on 5 hits in 6 innings, the run coming on a solo homer by Arrieta, and he was given credit for the 6-1 victory. Joe Martinez had been the last Giants pitcher to be a winner in his first start, back in 2009.

Related Sites

• Dereck Rodriguez at mlb.com
• BR Minors page
• Associated Press article