Leo Rodríguez (minors03)

Leomartires Rodríguez Reyes

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 160 lb.

• Born December 11, 1991 in Vicente Noble, Barahona D.R.

BR register page

Biographical Information

Leo Rodríguez has played in the Dominican Republic, USA and Italy and has appeared for the Spanish national team.

He was signed by Los Angeles Dodgers scout Elvio Jiménez in 2009. He hit .277/.375/.307 in his pro debut with the 2010 DSL Dodgers and fielded .980 at second base. Back with the same club in 2011, he batted .278/.353/.335 while fielding .942 at short. He came stateside in 2012 and hit .217/.312/.292 as a utility infielder for the AZL Dodgers. He scored 25 runs in 35 games.

In 2013, he played for the Great Lakes Loons and produced at a .256/.333/.286 clip, backing up Kevin Taylor at 2B, Corey Seager at SS and Brandon Dixon at 3B. He also got into one game for the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes and singled off Miles Mikolas in his lone at-bat. The next year, he hit .224/.283/.245 in 13 games for the Loons and .313/.336/.344 in 35 contests for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes to end his time in the Dodgers chain.

It is unclear where or if he played in 2015; BR register lists a Leo Rodriguez with the Pittsburg Diamonds but that may be a different player. In 2016, Leo played for Novara in the Italian Baseball League, hitting .161/.230/.196. Having a Spanish passport, he was able to play for the Spanish national team in the 2016 European Championship. He backed up Oscar Angulo at 2B for the Silver Medal winners. His only hit in six at-bats came off Gregg Mareels of Belgium but he scored three runs and handled 10 chances error-free.

Rodríguez played in the Italian minors in 2017, hitting .432/.558/.824 for Nettuno. He was 3rd in Serie A in average, led in slugging by 72 points, led in OBP by .011, was second with 33 runs, tied for the most triples (5), tied for 4th in homers (3) and was 4th in total bases (61) as Nettuno won a return to Italy's top league for 2018 (the top league changed names from the Italian Baseball League back to Serie A1, distinct from Serie A that he had played in during 2017). In the 2018 Serie A1, he hit .315/.364/.477 for Nettuno, a big improvement over his first try at Italy's top circuit. He tied Andrea Sellaroli and Yordanis Alarcón for 8th in hits (35), was 4th in RBI (24), tied for 3rd in doubles (9), was 7th with 53 total bases (between Jesús Ustariz and Mattia Mercuri) and tied for 3rd in errors (7).

He again played for Spain, during the 2018 Super6. This time, he was a starter at third base. He contributed well - .348/.348/.565, 3 R, 3 RBI in 5 G at the plate, 7 assists and no errors or putouts in the field. He tied for 5th in the event with 8 hits and led with two triples (off Kenny Vandenbranden and Markus Solbach, while Spain placed third. He hit .326/.379/.598 for Nettuno in the 2019 Serie A1, with 25 runs and 23 RBI in 22 games. He fielded .922. He was 7th in slugging (between Federico Celli and Federico Giordani), 2nd in runs (one behind Ericson Leónora), 8th in hits (30), tied for 4th in RBI (with Ustariz, Mattia Reginato and Leónora), tied for 5th in doubles (7), tied Celli for second in homers (one behind Renzo Martini) and 6th in total bases (55).

He hit .269/.321/.308 for Spain when they finished third in the 2019 European Championship, fielding .905 while manning short and third. He had five RBI in seven games, second on the team behind Ustariz. He also played both short and third in the 2019 Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier, batting .400/.412/.467 with two runs and two RBI in five games, fielding .813. He tied for 5th in the event in hits (6), was 4th in average (between Chris Colabello and Danny Valencia), tied Anthony Phillips for 9th in assists (10) and tied Zach Penprase for the most errors (3).

In 2020, he produced at a .381/.452/.746 clip with 22 runs and 18 RBI in 16 games for the Marlins Puerto Cruz in Spain's Division de Honor and fielded .985. He was 8th in slugging (between Nelson Santana and Jose Garcia), tied Roger Porcar for 9th in runs, tied for 10th in hits (24), led in doubles (9), tied Leopoldo Correa for 5th in total bases (47) and was 10th in assists (38).  Returning to Italy in 2021, he played for Parmaclima. He batted .238/.280/.667 with 3 homers and 12 RBI in five games when they won the 2021 European Champions Cup. He went deep off Alexander Šín of the Arrows Ostrava, Kevin Geestman of the Amsterdam Pirates and Christian Tomsich (a 3-run shot in the 6-4 win against the Bonn Capitals in the finale). He also handled 14 chances error-free. He tied for fifth in the high-flying event in homers, was 3rd in RBI (after Dwayne Kemp and Sicnarf Loopstok) and tied for 8th in assists (10, even with Ludwig Glaser and Radim Novotný). For the 2021 Serie A1, his batting line was .347/.422/.642 with 25 runs and 26 RBI in 24 games. He tied Manuel Joseph and Shakir Albert for 5th in home runs (6).

Playing for Spain in the 2021 European Championship, he hit .263/.300/.526 with six runs and six RBI in six games, fielding .875 at the hot corner. The highlight was a grand slam off Germany's Lucas Traut. He batted .300/.418/.363 for Parmaclima in the 2022 Serie A1; Parma made it to the 2022 Italian Series only to fall to San Marino. He was on Spain's team for the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers but did not get into a game as Edison Valerio manned third for Spain.