Gabriel Rodriguez (minors04)

Gabriel Emanuel Rodríguez

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 193 lb.
• School Miami Dade College
• High School Adela Rolon Fuentes High School, Colegio Angel David
• Born April 9, 1999 in Bayamon Puerto Rico

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Relief pitcher Gabriel Rodriguez was drafted twice. He was initially taken by the Minnesota Twins in the 11th round of the 2017 amateur draft, one pick ahead of pitcher Jared Solomon, but opted not to sign. He was then taken by the Atlanta Braves in the 31st round of the 2018 amateur draft; his signing bonus was $100,000 and the signing scout was Lou Sanchez. He had a 1.64 ERA and averaged 2 strikeouts—and 2 walks—per inning in 11 games for the GCL Braves in 2018, then missed all of 2019 and 2020 to injury and the cancellation of the 2020 campaign due to COVID-19.

He returned in 2021 and though he continued to post high strikeout rates—his number was 16.6 K/9 IP for the Augusta GreenJackets that year—he began posting elevated ERAs, in part due to lackluster control. In 32 innings, he had 56 Ks, but also 46 walks and 13 wild pitches, leading to an 8.44 ERA. In December 2021, he was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the Triple-A portion of the Rule V Draft and though he went 3-0 and averaged 12.1 K/9 IP between two minor league clubs, he also walked 31 batters in 19 1/3 innings and had a 7.91 ERA in 2022. He began 2023 in the low minors, again, two years older than the average player in his league.