Endy Rodriguez has earned some National recognition after his breakout 2022 campaign, as Baseball America named the 22-year-old catcher as the top prospect in the Pirates' farm system.
Rodriguez was named the Pirates' Honus Wagner Minor-League Player of the Year last month after a banner year where he hit .323 with 25 home runs, 39 doubles and a .996 OPS, all while making the jump from Class High-A Greensboro to Class AAA Indianapolis. He was added to the Pirates' 40 man roster this offseason.
The only person who seemed to perhaps not be completely satisfied with Rodriguez's 2022 season was Rodriguez himself.
“I don’t know if I have [reached my potential]," Rodriguez told me in Altoona just before the Curve's season ended. "I know it’s a really good year, but I want more. I don’t think it’s a good year. I want more.”
Rodriguez cracked the backend of Baseball America's top 100 prospect list at the end of the season, and will surely be ranked highly during their offseason update.
The Pirates' last two first-round picks, Termarr Johnson and Henry Davis, ranked second and third on Baseball America's list, respectively. A wrist injury limited Davis to just 212 at-bats in 2022, where he homered 10 times and had an .852 OPS. Johnson spent a good chunk of his season at the Pirates' spring training complex before going to Class Low-A Bradenton at the end of their season.
The next three spots are a trio of right-handed pitchers: Luis Ortiz at No. 4, Quinn Priester at No. 5 and Bubba Chandler at No. 6. Ortiz made his major-league debut this past season, completing his one-year rise from Bradenton at the end of 2021 to the majors. Priester was named the organization's Bob Friend Pitcher of the Year last month. Chandler made the jump to Class Low-A as a two-way player.
Liover Peguero and Nick Gonzales, the double-play duo for Class AA Altoona, were No. 7 and 8. Peguero earned his first cup of coffee in the majors this year while posting a .692 OPS for the Curve, while Gonzales battled injuries in Altoona before finishing his season with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League.
Mike Burrows and Thomas Harrington closed out the top 10 list. Burrows cracked Baseball America's top 100 list at the end of the season and had his contract selected by the Pirates, putting him on the 40 man roster. Harrington was the club's compensation Round A draft pick this year.
The full list can be found here.
