Reds Prospect Shines With Huge Night in Dominican Winter League

It was a big night in the Dominican Winter League for Reds prospect Hector Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who is playing for Leones del Escogido, played left field and went 2-3 with a home run.

In six games, the 21-year-old is 5-20 with an extra-base hit and a stolen base. The outfielder is Cincinnati's No. 9-ranked prospect.

"Rodriguez has always been hitterish from the left side of the plate," MLB Pipeline wrote." He’s at his best when he’s more gap-to-gap and sending line drives to all fields. He has started to tap into more power and it’s shown up more to his pull side. He is an aggressive hitter who chases out of the zone frequently but keeps the swing-and-miss in check, with a strikeout rate under 15 percent in his career to date. The hope is he’ll become a better hitter as he climbs the ladder and pitchers are around the zone more, with the concern being that better pitchers will be able to exploit his free-swinging tendencies."

Rodriguez played in 135 games last season between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, slashing .283/.336/.450 with 46 extra-base hits and 15 stolen bases.

He was acquired from the New York Mets along with right-handed pitcher Jose Acuna in 2022 in exchange for outfielder Tyler Naquin.

Rodriguez will have a chance to play himself onto the Opening Day roster next season.

You can watch his home run below: