The Prospect and His Card Future From the Quinn Priester Trade
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One week into the baseball season, the Red Sox and Brewers announced the first consequential trade of the season. The Red Sox sent starting pitcher Quinn Priester to the Brewers for prospect Yophery Rodriguez, the 33th pick in the 2025 MLB Draft and a player to be named later or cash. Although Rodriguez isn’t in the top prospect rankings for either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America, he does reside just outside the top 100 according to both publications with the potential to jump into the top 100 this season. I’ll be focusing on the hobby impact this trade has for Rodriguez.
Yophery Rodriguez, OF
Yophery Rodriguez was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Milwaukee Brewers during the 2023 international signing period for $1.5 million, which was the highest amount they gave to a player. Rodriguez enjoyed a good start to his professional career both in the DR and stateside. The Brewers pushed him aggressively, having him jump straight to A ball. He responded to the challenge well, hitting a solid .259/.356/.428 through July before appearing to tire out at the end of season per Baseball America. Even though he appeared to hit a wall his final numbers were still solid as he the left hander finished with a .250/ 343./.383 line as an 18 year old. Rodriguez currently plays center but will most likely end up in a corner as he progresses where his good instincts and above average arm will play well. At the time of the trade, Rodriguez was the Brewers 7th ranked prospect and is ranked 11th in a loaded Red Sox farm system. Based on his skillset and terrific makeup/work ethic Rodriguez has the potential to climb both the Sox top prospect list and crack top 100 lists as the season progresses.
At the time this article was written Rodriguez still had not made hisTopps or other product debuts. However, just before the start of the baseball season, Topps released a video of Rodriguez reacting to his first Bowman card where you can see his genuine excitement. Moving from the Brewers to the Sox should provide a boost in value. However, that might be slightly offset by Rodriguez making his product debut in a Brewers jersey vs a Red Sox one. In terms of his hobby value, there’s obviously a lot of variability, as it’s not quite clear based on the video which 2025 Bowman product he'll make his debut in. If he were to make his product debut earlier in the season in Bowman 2025 (which I anticipate) I would expect him to be a middle tier chase, mostly due to his lack track record, with a chance to be a low risk high reward prospect for collectors to follow. If he makes his debut later in Bowman Chrome and crushes it for High A Greenville obviously I’d adjust that prediction upward.
On a personal note, Rodriguez gave an interview to MLB.com where he talked about his journey so far in professional baseball that really impressed me. It’s a short interview where he talks about how much he’s learned. He also talks about how his mother who beat breast cancer still calls him to give him feedback on his playing and how she inspires him every day. Just like in the Topps video, he came across as humble and hard working; someone who’s cards fans and collectors can feel good about chasing.
