Bats: Switch; Throws: Right
2011 Stats (Arizona Rookie League/ A- Lake County): .304, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 18 SB, .779 OPS, 2.90 K/BB
One of my biggest criteria for placement on this list is how soon the player might help the big league club. Given that Luigi is looooooong way off, a ranking this high speaks incredibly well of his talent and potential. While he does not have ideal size, we can expect him to add body mass and fill out as a player as he progresses through the system. Right now, his greatest attribute is his speed. The 18 steals of 2011 came in half a season as L-Rod did not begin playing until the short-season began due to recovery from a hamate that he broke in Spring Training. He also amassed 31 steals in the Dominican Summer League in 2010 and complimented that number with 10 triples in 63 games. While whatever power level he might attain is certainly in the infant stage, he has shown the distinct ability to get the ball into the gap and snag the extra base thanks to his wheels. At the dish, his best tool is his hand-eye co-ordination. While it may take some time for him to return to the sub-1.0 K/BB ration that he posted in 2010, he neither gets cheated at the plate nor swings at many bad pitches. Additionally, Rodriguez does an excellent at squaring up the ball, resulting in scads of sharply hit balls. Scouting director John Mirabelli once described Luigi as the fastest player he had ever brought into the Indians farm system. Once he builds more advanced baserunning skills and logs more outfield innings (he is a converted second baseman), he is going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Too bad that we likely won't see him until 2014.
Up Next: #11 - LHP Elvis Araujo
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