Cardinals C Raniel Rodriguez makes BA Top 15 risers ...

[ramfandan]

...in 2026 Dynasty 500 Rankings

Rainiel Rodriguez, C, Cardinals
Previous Rank: 378
Current Rank: 123
Movement: +255
The road to fantasy irrelevance is paved with good hitting catchers, but Rodriguez might be the exception to the rule. Rodriguez has a perfect blend of plate skills, power and good angles, making it easy to project strong production from the young backstop in the coming years. Rodriguez boasted a max exit velocity of 113.4 mph as an 18-year-old in full-season ball, with a 23.8% barrel rate and a 30.5% air-pull rate. The upside with Rodriguez is a 30-plus home run bat that doesn’t come at the expense of your batting average. Rodriguez is a long way away, but he could be special.

We have had Alex Rodriguez A Rod , Julio Rodriguez J-Rod , So what will our guy be .. Ray Rod Rainy Rod

[TheFantasyStud]

I like both Ray Rod / Rainy Rod
Maybe throw in El Rod

[MrPostman01]

So many catchers, Just one position,

[RunSup]

So many catchers, Just one position,

And Bernal just won the minor league gold glove for catchers. One GG awarded across the entire minor league system for the position.

Crooks looks to be capable defensively also.

Give R Rodriguez one more year to develop as a catcher, but I'd start eyeballing third base.

Ivan is headed to LF, 1B, DH

[BrockFloodMaris]

So many catchers, Just one position,

And Bernal just won the minor league gold glove for catchers. One GG awarded across the entire minor league system for the position.

Crooks looks to be capable defensively also.

Give R Rodriguez one more year to develop as a catcher, but I'd start eyeballing third base.

Ivan is headed to LF, 1B, DH

I’m watching the Cards organizational depth at catcher closely. How is bloom going to play this out? I don’t know who needs to get 40 man protection and when, but I’d love to see bloom turn all this depth into some high end pitching prospects.

[Absolut]

Given the miss rate on stl prospects I’ll take the abundance with a grain of salt.

[rockondlouie]

It's fun to imagine what this kid (18 yrs old) is going to look like as he gets older and stronger.

He could be a beast.

(And I'm in the Ra-Rod camp)

[Strummer Jones]

I like both Ray Rod / Rainy Rod
Maybe throw in El Rod

Or just "The Rain."

Imagine a promo where he hits a nuke. "Thunder before The Rain" or "Before The Rain comes thunder"

[ramfandan]

I like both Ray Rod / Rainy Rod
Maybe throw in El Rod

Or just "The Rain."

Imagine a promo where he hits a nuke. "Thunder before The Rain" or "Before The Rain comes thunder"

Like those .. got me thinking on your 'where he hits a nuke ..
The promo shows him hitting a ball that is clearing everything at Busch Stadium .. and the graphic says 'Another 'Rain Out' at Busch Stadium !

[Cranny]

He and Bernal are an excellent pair to have.
Especially with Bernal recently winning the minor league Gold Glove Award.,

[Strummer Jones]

I like both Ray Rod / Rainy Rod
Maybe throw in El Rod

Or just "The Rain."

Imagine a promo where he hits a nuke. "Thunder before The Rain" or "Before The Rain comes thunder"

Like those .. got me thinking on your 'where he hits a nuke ..
The promo shows him hitting a ball that is clearing everything at Busch Stadium .. and the graphic says 'Another 'Rain Out' at Busch Stadium !

Now we're getting it!

[Ronnie Dobbs]

He'll be 19 years old and likely starting in Peoria next year. Very excited to see what he's going to do next year.

And I've read and heard people say that, with him being so young, he's actually has a chance to develop into a good defensive catcher. I kinda wrote him off catcher early last year, but I hope he can stick.