The 21-year-old outfielder walked to the plate in his first trip. The next time he came up, he singled to left field and drove in two runs, tying the game at 3-3. Two innings later he was back at bat and his team led 5-3. Rodriguez crushed the ball against the wall for a double that came off his bat at 110 miles per hour. In the bottom of the sixth inning, he came to bat for the last time in the game. The score was 11-3 at that point in the game and there was a runner on first base. Rodriguez trailed 0-2, but Jhan Marinez hung a cutter in the middle of the zone and he paid the price as the ball went 450 feet for a two-run home run.
The homerun capped a 3-3 night with a walk and two extra basehits. Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to six games, going 12-24 with five extra base hits, a walk and no strikeouts. His line in the Dominican Winter League now stands at .301/.375/.504 and he has walked as many times as he has struck out – 13 times – in his 128 plate appearances.
His 450-foot home run in this game was the longest of 2025, surpassing the 450-foot home runs he hit in August while playing at Louisville. It’s the second-longest home run he’s hit that I have any record of in his career. While playing with Single-A Daytona in 2023, Rodriguez hit a 450-foot home run.
Cincinnati added Hector Rodriguez to its 40-man roster in November. The outfielder won’t turn 22 until midway through spring training. As things stand right now, the Reds are still looking for options in the outfield to go along with Noelvi Marte in right and TJ Friedl in center, though they could try to plug in and play with guys like Gavin Lux, Will Benson and Spencer Steer. Since two of those guys are left-handed hitters, it likely leaves little chance for Rodriguez to make the team out of spring training, but he does represent the potential high contact of a pop-like hitter that the team both wants and needs.
However, Rodriguez could probably use some more time in the minor leagues. He was very good in Double-A last season, but his production dipped a bit in Triple-A, where he was one of the youngest players in the league. His time in the Dominican Winter League is likely contributing to his progression and the fact that he has walked as many times as he has struck out feels like a good sign as he has generally had an incredibly aggressive approach at the plate throughout his career and has been the one area that most scouts and analysts point to as the part of his game that he needed to improve if he wanted to find long-term success against big league pitchers.
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